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Some jobs have a special place in people’s minds – train driver is one, zoo keeper is another. But what is it really like to work with exotic animals?
Senior Mammal Keeper Jason Knight has worked at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park for 22 years. His section includes Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, cheetahs, mandrills, maned wolves and black rhinos – including six-month old female calf Zuri.
“I became a keeper for the love of animals and the lack of football skills!” laughs Jason. “The best thing about the job is getting to know the animals' different characters and the varied work. It’s great to be able to educate both adults and children who are interested in conservation.” And the worst thing? “People who disregard the animals’ needs for peace and quiet.”
How has your routine changed with the arrival of black rhino calf Zuri? “We spend more time at the rhino house nowadays. The months of pregnancy and the period after the birth brought extra work, but it was all well worth it. Our routine is pretty much back to the way it was before Zuri was born now that she is a little bit older and bigger.”
Jason starts his working day at 7:50am. Keepers work a three-week rota working two weekends in every three, so his team varies day-to-day. The regular keepers on the section are Lucy Manning and Louise McKenna, supported by Lee Haley.
Today should be as straightforward and as typical as the working day of a keeper gets. Jason is working with Louise, who has been at Paignton Zoo for five years and was on the hoof-stock section before this.
Jason starts by collecting his keys, zoo walkie-talkie and Gator (an electrically-powered buggy, the workhorse of the Paignton Zoo world). His first stop is stores to load up with some of the feed needed for the day. There’s bones, meat, chicken and rabbit for the carnivores and fruit and veg for the mandrills. The rhinos’ food comes in bulk and is delivered separately.
By 8:15am the team is checking on the animals - they make sure the electric fences is working properly before the seven mandrills are let out. At 8:25 the pair call in on the maned wolves to feed them. Some species are shut in each evening and some have outdoor access all night. On Jason’s section, the cheetahs and wolves have round-the-clock access to the paddock.
By 8:30 they have split up. Lou goes to feed and clean out the cheetahs and then pressure-wash the mandrill house. Jason goes to the big cats to check on the Asiatic lions and Sumatran tigers, let them out and clean both sets of dens.
Most of the animals have enrichment on most days. Enrichment helps to stimulate animals mentally and physically and can include anything from novel scents and sounds to balls and boxes and barrels with food inside.
The keepers alternate on a regular basis so that they all have a turn working with all the animals on the section.
At around 10:00am they put feed out in the paddocks for the rhinos and shut them out so that they can clean indoors. Between tea-break (“Always welcome!” says Jay) and lunch the keepers finish cleaning out the mandrills and move on to the rhino house, armed with wheelbarrows, brushes and hoses. Then more food is put down ready for the animals to be let back in.
At 12:15 there’s a meet the keeper session at the big cats. Talking to the public is yet another aspect of the zoo keeper’s job. The time of their lunch break varies day-to-day. Before it comes the rhinos are back indoors – and now the yard has to be cleaned. “Zuri is quite a strong character now,” says Lou. “She is friendly, confident – and loves apples!”
In the afternoon Jason cuts up fruit and veg for the mandrills and rhinos, goes into the woods to collect browse – branches of leaves – and cleans out the wolves.
“This is a fairly basic day - on other days there can be all sorts of extra stuff going on, like enrichment or collecting hay and straw, vet inspections or procedures and Keeper For A Day. At the moment we are closing the rhino house at 4:00pm to give them a little peace and quiet. We collect the money from the water troughs in the house every day – it all goes to support the Zoo’s rhino work in Africa, based at the Dambari field station in Zimbabwe.”
After this there’s a little quality time with the rhinos, including some skin care work with Kingo, who enjoys a bit of a mud bath – the keepers apply the mud by hand; even though Kingo is pretty friendly, they work together with a close eye on the exit, only going in with him when he is lying down. At 4:30 Jason and Louise feed and shut in the mandrills then move on to do the same with the lions and tigers. They also clean the paddocks (again) ready for the morning.
Today Jason gets to go home at about 5:15.
If you fancy becoming a zoo keeper, consider this – you get to work with some amazing animals, it’s true, but keepers are out in all weathers, it is demanding physically and you also have to know a lot about the species and the individual animals with which you work. On the rhino section, shovelling dung is a big part of the day. It’s muck and magic – and Jason for one wouldn’t swap with anybody.
For further information, please click through to the Paignton Zoo Local Service Guide feature.
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Muck and Magic - a day in the life of a Paignton Zoo keeper
Some jobs have a special place in people’s minds – train driver is one, zoo keeper is another. But what is it really like to work with exotic animals?
Senior Mammal Keeper Jason Knight has worked at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park for 22 years. His section includes Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers, cheetahs, mandrills, maned wolves and black rhinos – including six-month old female calf Zuri.
“I became a keeper for the love of animals and the lack of football skills!” laughs Jason. “The best thing about the job is getting to know the animals' different characters and the varied work. It’s great to be able to educate both adults and children who are interested in conservation.” And the worst thing? “People who disregard the animals’ needs for peace and quiet.”
How has your routine changed with the arrival of black rhino calf Zuri? “We spend more time at the rhino house nowadays. The months of pregnancy and the period after the birth brought extra work, but it was all well worth it. Our routine is pretty much back to the way it was before Zuri was born now that she is a little bit older and bigger.”
Jason starts his working day at 7:50am. Keepers work a three-week rota working two weekends in every three, so his team varies day-to-day. The regular keepers on the section are Lucy Manning and Louise McKenna, supported by Lee Haley.
Today should be as straightforward and as typical as the working day of a keeper gets. Jason is working with Louise, who has been at Paignton Zoo for five years and was on the hoof-stock section before this.
Jason starts by collecting his keys, zoo walkie-talkie and Gator (an electrically-powered buggy, the workhorse of the Paignton Zoo world). His first stop is stores to load up with some of the feed needed for the day. There’s bones, meat, chicken and rabbit for the carnivores and fruit and veg for the mandrills. The rhinos’ food comes in bulk and is delivered separately.
By 8:15am the team is checking on the animals - they make sure the electric fences is working properly before the seven mandrills are let out. At 8:25 the pair call in on the maned wolves to feed them. Some species are shut in each evening and some have outdoor access all night. On Jason’s section, the cheetahs and wolves have round-the-clock access to the paddock.
By 8:30 they have split up. Lou goes to feed and clean out the cheetahs and then pressure-wash the mandrill house. Jason goes to the big cats to check on the Asiatic lions and Sumatran tigers, let them out and clean both sets of dens.
Most of the animals have enrichment on most days. Enrichment helps to stimulate animals mentally and physically and can include anything from novel scents and sounds to balls and boxes and barrels with food inside.
The keepers alternate on a regular basis so that they all have a turn working with all the animals on the section.
At around 10:00am they put feed out in the paddocks for the rhinos and shut them out so that they can clean indoors. Between tea-break (“Always welcome!” says Jay) and lunch the keepers finish cleaning out the mandrills and move on to the rhino house, armed with wheelbarrows, brushes and hoses. Then more food is put down ready for the animals to be let back in.
At 12:15 there’s a meet the keeper session at the big cats. Talking to the public is yet another aspect of the zoo keeper’s job. The time of their lunch break varies day-to-day. Before it comes the rhinos are back indoors – and now the yard has to be cleaned. “Zuri is quite a strong character now,” says Lou. “She is friendly, confident – and loves apples!”
In the afternoon Jason cuts up fruit and veg for the mandrills and rhinos, goes into the woods to collect browse – branches of leaves – and cleans out the wolves.
“This is a fairly basic day - on other days there can be all sorts of extra stuff going on, like enrichment or collecting hay and straw, vet inspections or procedures and Keeper For A Day. At the moment we are closing the rhino house at 4:00pm to give them a little peace and quiet. We collect the money from the water troughs in the house every day – it all goes to support the Zoo’s rhino work in Africa, based at the Dambari field station in Zimbabwe.”
After this there’s a little quality time with the rhinos, including some skin care work with Kingo, who enjoys a bit of a mud bath – the keepers apply the mud by hand; even though Kingo is pretty friendly, they work together with a close eye on the exit, only going in with him when he is lying down. At 4:30 Jason and Louise feed and shut in the mandrills then move on to do the same with the lions and tigers. They also clean the paddocks (again) ready for the morning.
Today Jason gets to go home at about 5:15.
If you fancy becoming a zoo keeper, consider this – you get to work with some amazing animals, it’s true, but keepers are out in all weathers, it is demanding physically and you also have to know a lot about the species and the individual animals with which you work. On the rhino section, shovelling dung is a big part of the day. It’s muck and magic – and Jason for one wouldn’t swap with anybody.
For further information, please click through to the Paignton Zoo Local Service Guide feature.