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“The Zebras Are Ruthless”: 30 Unexpected Secrets Only Zoo Employees Know
Zoos are fascinating places because where else will you see animals from multiple continents just hanging out, next to a person in a simple, outdoor uniform sweeping. People do love to see and get close to wildlife, but it can be almost just as fascinating to learn the logistics of how these places work in the background.
We’ve gathered interesting, wild and sometimes downright unhinged stories from zookeepers on what it’s actually like to work among animals. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments down below.
Discover more in “The Zebras Are Ruthless”: 46 Unexpected Secrets Only Zoo Employees Know
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#1
Was a zookeeper for a while and now work exclusively with non human primates. It’s not a “dirty” secret like OP was asking for, but wanted to chime in and say please don’t berate keepers because you don’t agree with zoos.
We almost all went to college for animals, we love them far more than you most likely, and it’s really disheartening to be trying your best to make sure your animals are comfortable and happy only to have some housewife who donated to PETA like 2 years ago tell you that you’re a piece of trash. We need responsible zoos for wildlife donations since the vast majority of “animal rights activists” don’t do anything to actually help animals. If you have a problem with the way an animal is being treated, report it to the APHIS immediately, don’t berate someone who has dedicated their lives to helping animals because it makes you feel special.
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#2
The path to being a keeper is rough. It can literally start with working a concession stand at a zoo with a college degree making minimum wage, and the path to mobility being talking to the other keepers to the point they'll let you clean the cage of the animals they keep. Do that a few years and hope that position opens, not necessarily one that you want, but any, because getting in the door is HARD, high demand, low supply. It is a job where you really need to love the work and be OK not making much money.
Source: Friend followed this path at a zoo that is known the world over.
#3
Not a zookeeper but do animal cognition research in zoos. Biggest thing i learned was that many zookeepers LOVE their animals, that the association of zoos and aquariums (AZA) has really high standards for care, and that many species have a nationwide breeding program. So that new baby chimp you see at the zoo? That was planned far in advance, the genetic variation between parents and within the social group was carefully calculated, and there may have even been a swap out of another animal to make space for the baby.
Basically, all that stuff about zoos being “sad” and “unethical” are the exception not the rule. Good zoos are there to conserve, protect, and make sure that their animals are healthy both physically and cognitively.
#4
I worked with large tortoises. We had these 5-gallon buckets for cleaning out of enclosures and other buckets for feeding them fresh grass we cut. The first day on the job I took both buckets into the pen and started by dumping out the grass. Then I went around to clean. I heard this awful loud grunting and something breaking. One of the 300 lb males tried to bang the bucket in front of visitors and flattened it. He would even follow me around just in case I might leave more innocent buckets unattended.
Mary Morris 2 months ago
😆 Yep, they'll try to bang anything that doesn't move fast enough - even some of the landscaping!
#5
Rhinos may look super intimidating, and they can hurt you, but really they just act like big dogs. They love being scratched and will eat all the fruit out of your hand!
#6
Our lions will urinate on guests if they get too close, which is always funny to see. Not so funny to smell.
#7
Lions know fully well that they can't get through the glass. They do that just to get attention.
#8
If you work with the animals there's a good chance you'll not be able to have any kind of social life, between the long hours/weekends and the stench.
I've been kicked out of stores after work because I apparently stunk way worse than I thought I did - even after scrubbing off!
And I'm around animals every day, but I still can't stand when otter / sealion keepers are around me in "all-hands" meetings. The rotten fish + ferrety otter smell combo is a gagger. Meanwhile, I work with apes, and they say that I smell like I haven't showered in a decade (again...even after I shower).
#9
I did co-op at one for two weeks. The Sumatran tigers had a nice enclosure but the overnight enclosure was very small and depressing. I would walk around the outdoor enclosure hiding meatballs while they were in there, and I was always scared someone would forget I'm out there. There's nothing like that smell of tiger urine, as soon as I first smelled it it's like an instinct kicked in and all the hairs on my body raised as if I just knew there was something close that could eat me.
Also, so many people drop money beneath the walkways, I found a few $5.00 bills.
#10
Not quite a zookeeper but in training to be one!
The zebras and Przewalski's horses are ruthless and will tear apart any unfortunate wild kangaroo that dares break into an enclosure. They love the thrill of the chase.
#11
The poor penguin keepers can never quite get rid of the miasma of fish that envelopes them. As for me, the stinkiest job I ever had to do was cleaning out the duck ponds. Managed to empty a whole train carriage that evening, even though I had changed and my work clothes were double-bagged.
#12
There's no "dirty" secrets as far as shady practices or anything.
But if you mean literally...oh yeah, it's dirty.
I cleaned up over 100 pounds of cat feces just today, and even after I showered my husband still says I smell overwhelmingly of cat pee.
#13
When you're cleaning underneath the perches, parrots will wait for you to look up before relieving themselves. They have a good aim. Don't look up.
#14
I spoke to a zoo keeper at the national zoon in DC. We where watching another keeper inside the cheetah enclosure and I asked him about the danger involved. He said a cheetah is harmless to an adult human because it only hunts smaller creatures. I asked which creature was the worst to go in with, expecting hippo, elephant or croc as an answer. Without hesitating he said "zebras" then leaned close and whispered "They are the biggest jerks. They will bite and kick for no reason." I still think it's hilarious that off all the teeth and claws out there, it's stripped donkey horses that are the worst.
#15
I used to volunteer weekly at a large zoo and at one point management started doing monthly dangerous animal escape drills. Someone would run around in a lion onesie and we’d have to react as if one of the large animals had escaped. It was hilarious but one of the funniest things I was taught was that if an incident did occur you have to tell the nearby guests to get inside only once. If after that they refuse to follow you indoors (the protocol was to hole up in the large activity centre buildings) , you’re to leave them there, go inside yourself and lock the doors. It makes sense because people can be very stupid and you don’t want to risk everyone’s lives because of one Karen, but it amused me no end that the protocol was to just let them get mauled.
#16
I'm a small animal vet now but worked in a zoo before vet school. Zoos are one of the biggest purchasers of Calvin Klein's Obsession cologne. The cologne has animal musk in it and it drives the big cats wild. We used to spray it on everything.
#17
The amount of injuries you can just casually pick up from animals is crazy. I've been kicked in the chest by a kangaroo, attacked by a wombat and a bat, bitten by a monitor lizard and a carpet python, had a rhino charge at me, and been scratched by a macaque. My old boss has this bad scar from a snow leopard attack, and this guy I work with now has his entire left forearm mangled from an orangutan attack.
It also shocks you how....dumb people can be. There can be a huge sign that says "Hello! I'm an echidna, NOT a porcupine!" and people will still ask if that's a baby porcupine.
You get used to the same jokes every day. Like when you're cleaning up the outside enclosures (in view of the guests), someone will eventually say "Oh what a strange animal! I wonder what kind it is!" in regards to seeing a human.
I have no qualms about picking up animal feces bare-handed. I know what my animals have been eating, I know what's in their digestive systems, and to me that makes it more bearable. I can have long discussions about it consistency with my co workers, and in fact, that's what a lot of general health talks are about. "Homer's stool was a little looser than normal this morning - I wonder if something happened overnight to stress him out"
You get used to being stinky. I currently work 8+ hours with primates daily and I feel awful for the people who share a space with me when I go to the gym directly after work.
ORANGUTAN EDIT: Orangutans are NOT the gentle giants you think they are. All apes, and I mean all apes, have the capacity to maim/disfigure/end you if you annoy them enough. Don't look primates directly in the eye for an extended period of time, don't smile at primates, and for the love of god don't invade their personal space.
MORE INJURIES EDIT: Had a piercing ripped out by a macaw, fingers and hands torn up from handling/training conures and other large parrots, quite a few nasty bites from small mammals (hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, etc.). A few injuries from horses but nothing out of the ordinary.
#18
Used to work at a zoo, cold weather makes the animals more active so go on a chilly day or first thing in the morning to see the best show from the animals.
Also, those free roaming peacocks are really stupid and sometimes go in the lions exhibit and get torn up.
Edit: because of lots of questions about where, this was the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho.
#19
If you have worked with them then you probably already know, but one swift kick from an ostrich can literally disembowel you. Every time I see a video of someone getting up close to one, I can’t help but cringe. One of our head keepers had actually lost part of their ear to one.
#20
I volunteer at an aqurium and the people always ask about whether the sharks that are in with the fish ever eat the fish officially we say, “we keep them well fed enough that they don’t”, but on more then one morning on my initial walk around I have found remains of fish that definitely weren’t feed fish. On a particularly memorable occasion I found the head of a large porgy just sitting on the bottom. A diver went in and got it before guests arrived.
#21
In the [AZA Zoo](https://www.aza.org/?locale=en) world, all animals are on birth control. When it’s time to breed the keepers will go on a database similar to EHarmony for zoo animals to find the perfect match for their animal. It takes YEARS sometimes to get the right couple together, transferred, adjusted to each other, etc all to have one baby. This is to prevent inbreeding and overpopulation. Zoos are there to educate, not populate species and only do so to keep the zoo population healthy since no zoo takes from the wild or “breeders” (looking at Tiger King).
#22
The amount of idiots who complain to management about paying to go to the zoo, then not seeing any animals is unreal! Like, what do you want us to do? Go in there with sticks and chase them out of their hidey-holes?! Sorry buddy, not going to happen.
#23
Zookeepers are expected to have degrees and like 5 years of practical experience before they’re employed and then they’re paid basically minimum wage.
#24
Zookeepers can only stand to hang out with zookeepers of the same kind of animal because of the smell. No matter how much you scrub or change, the smell clings. Primate keepers smell like they haven't bathed in a decade, snake keepers smell cloyingly unnerving, and sealion people make you gag from the fish smell.
#25
Partner was a zookeeper in Dallas. Safety protocols for when a large, dangerous animal escapes its enclosure dictate that you lock yourself in whatever room you can get to quickest and grab the nearest weapon, which, for most zookeepers, was a broom or rake for cleaning up animal feces.
#26
The job is 24/7. Even where you're not working, you're still working. And it's like 90% cleaning. And answering some very dumb question such as "Is the cheetah right there the youngster of a lion?". That kind of question truly make you understand how dumb people can be and how much they need to be educated about wildlife.
If you're working with small primates, you will be peed on at least once in your career; birds can show love in a quite painful way (but you still love them because they are way smarter and amazing than most people know) and you always watch you back (and never turn it to some species).
Btw, the skin between an hippopotamus' nostrils is super smooth under the hand (but yeah, don't pet them for no reason xD).
And sometimes, you will just have to stand in front of an enclosure for hours in order to monitor your animal's behavior (they like to give this job to trainees/interns).
#27
If you see a zookeeper doing a training session and they do not have a microphone on them, please do not try to talk to them. I have to step up with our Jaguars multiple times a day in full view of the public. 95% of the time people are shouting questions at me mid-training session. I’m working with a dangerous animal that could eat me, or seriously injure me even through the barrier that’s always between us. All of my attention needs to be on that animal. PLEASE DO NOT TALK TO ME UNTIL I AM FINISHED. Any other time, I absolutely love talking to people about the animals I work with.
#28
Fun fact bout the local zoo i learnt when i worked maintenance, there is a wolf enclosure. There is info bout the wolves, its maintained. "They are just shy/in their shelter atm" . There are no wolves, never was.
#29
Went on a behind the scenes tour of the zoo.
Saw quite a few bunnies come out during the tour (the neighboring park had a problem with people abandoning pet rabbits). It was pretty clear the dumb bunnies were getting into predator enclosures. Tour guide confirmed they were regularly getting eaten.
Tour guide also indicated other urban wildlife: raccoons, possums, squirrels, birds were regularly eaten by predators. Said that when they drained the lion enclosure moat for maintenance it was filled with the bones of small mammals.
The most amusing stories were about the orangutans who are wicked smart. Zookeeper trained them to give over items in exchange for food in case they needed to get something from them in the enclosure. But orangutans are smart, and realized if they break things up and hand it back in lots of little pieces they get more food. They disassembled a radio that accidentally got left in the enclosure and when there was an opossum in the enclosure the results were a bit more gruesome.
#30
I was director of the Texas Zoo in Victoria. Many times told visitors that were hanging their babies, kids over the alligator pit so they could get a better view, that we didn't want them to spoil the alligators' dinner with extra snacks!
Final score:
0points
#31
Former coworker got a job at the aquarium. He was basically the night watchman, making sure nothing exploded when the aquarium was closed. The thing is, he can't actually do anything about it.
A ray jumped out of the open touch pool, so he gently picked it up and set it back in the tank. No harm done, ray is fine. He got chewed out for handling an animal. Policy is to call the expert handler for that department and have them come in, to avoid any liability and whatnot. By the time you get them to pick up the phone at 3 am, get up, and drive into the city it'll be like forty minutes *at best*. Assuming they came in at all.
So his job was really to just stand there staring as the animal suffocated.
He ended up quitting when he tried to call out sick because he had the flu so bad he literally couldn't stand up straight and part of the job was to walk the narrow hanging walkway over the largest tank in the world, which includes sharks, alone, at night... and they told him to come in anyway.
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