Download Thirty eight years of crap

Thirty eight years of crap.
A retrospective look at Zoo Keeping since 1974.
Oliver Claffey
Animal Care Supervisor (Retired)
Toronto Zoo
Ontario, Canada
In the early 1970's, a group of people were given a unique, once in a
lifetime opportunity. Their task was to create a large, innovative world class
zoo on 710 acres of land in the Rouge Valley, which is in the north east
corner of Toronto, Ontario. The zoo was to be bio-geographic, exhibiting
animals and plants together from geographic zones. Nobody had ever done
this before on such a large scale.
The people came from Canada and across the Globe for this was an
opportunity not to be missed. I've always been very proud to have been
one of the first Zoo Keepers at the zoo and to have been a member of the
team that made the Metro Toronto Zoo the World Class Zoo it became.
In January, 1974, I began my career as a Zoo Keeper.
My first assignment was being trained in the art of Zoo Keeping by
experienced animal keepers from Canada, England, the USA and
Australia. The zoo was still under construction at that time and not due to
open until the summer. Animals were being shipped from all over the world
and were being quarantined in a variety of places including the old
Riverdale Zoo and old farmhouses, stables and barns in the surrounding
area. I remember helping move a massive male Polar bear, whose name
was Mr. Pooh, from Riverdale to the new Polar bear house. He was
drugged, hog tied and we dragged him in a net, into a large van. I sat with
several other Zoo staff and Mr. Pooh in the back of the van. Dr. Bill Rapley,
our vet, had a loaded syringe ready in case our illustrious passenger
started to come out of the anesthetic. My standing here, presenting this
paper, is proof that Mr. Pooh slept well on his journey up the Don Valley
Parkway!
The African, Indo-Malayan, Eurasian, and North American areas
were almost completed when the Zoo opened. Australasia and the
Canadian Domain came later. The night before the zoo opened on August
15, we were still setting up exhibits at 10pm! The same thing still occurs
today! We are never ready on time.
The goal for us back then was to breed the animals, which were
exhibited in realistic, natural looking habitats, and then to release the
surplus offspring into the wild. It was an idealistic, if not naïve time. The
Seventies really was a different era.
I was making $5.00 an hour and the few female keepers there were
making a dollar less than the men! That changed in 1975 though as we
became unionized employees. This used to be a male dominated
profession but I have seen that reversed over the years.
The span from 1974 to 2012 has seen some changes but many
things are still the same. The basic skills of a keeper haven't changed
much but animal training has certainly evolved since then. It is so important
for the novice to learn their trade. How to keep their workplace safe, clean
and organized. How to use the right tool for the task at hand. How to put
the needs of the animals first and foremost. How to record your day's
activities.
It was strongly recommended to me that I read Heini Hediger's book
"Man, Animal and the Zoo". The Zoo biology classic was first published as
"Mensch und Tier im Zoo" in 1965 and was published in English in 1969.
Professor Hediger was Swiss and was Director of Basel Zoo and then
Zurich Zoo. He is the father of Zoo Biology as we know it today. His book
was my bible, my enchiridion when I was becoming a Zoo Keeper. If any of
you have not read it, you should do so. It will help you understand the
bedrock on which the art of Zoo Animal keeping is based. In the 1950s, he
promoted the concept of training zoo animals to elicit biologically suitable
behavior and to afford the animal exercise and mental occupation. Further,
he observed that in some cases training increased the opportunity for the
Zoo Keeper to give needed medical treatments to the animal. Interestingly,
Professor Hediger referred to zoo animal training as “disciplined play”.
Basic animal husbandry changes, evolves, and improves as our
knowledge of animal biology continues to grow. What were ‘state of the art’
husbandry practices and exhibits a few years ago may no longer be
relevant and are deemed old fashioned by the progressive and enlightened
zookeeper. I remember a paper at the 1990 Conference in New Orleans.
Gary Priest showed us innovative training methods with a Drill. After that, I
reckoned Operant Conditioning was a tool that keepers had to learn (how)
to use. Enrichment is a term that was not used initially in my career but was
known simply as giving the animals something to do! There is definitely
more of an emphasis on this now and that's a good thing.
What I have always loved about being a Zoo Keeper is that it is
definitely one of the coolest jobs in the world. I mean it's right up there with
Astronauts and Rock Stars! People are constantly remarking when they
find out what you do for a living. "You're a Zoo Keeper? Wow!" Right? It
happens to you all I am sure. Hey, I'm a Zoo Keeper Baby!
When I went to get my Canadian Citizenship, the Justice of the
Peace talked to me for 10 minutes about Zoos, he was fascinated with our
profession. He hardly asked me anything about Canada! Growing up, my
children always knew what their Dad did for a living. My Daddy is a Zoo
Keeper!....and teachers would invariably send home a request for an in
class talk about zoos and animals. We all love visiting a Zoo we haven't
seen before and oh, the thrill of seeing a species for the first time!
I joined The American Association of Zookeepers in 1977. Our first
Director, Dr. Gunther Voss, would not support us forming a chapter. He
suspected it to be some kind of labour union. When Dr. Philip Ogilvie
arrived, he actually encouraged us to become members and to form our
chapter, which many of us did. I watched keepers leave after four or five
years, as they decided to do something else. Some were frustrated and
disenchanted. We were not being paid very well for an occupation that
demanded so much. A seven day operation, twelve months of the year
takes its toll on people in different ways. Strains on marriages were too
common. In 1979, I too thought seriously about changing jobs and started
looking. I had friends with connections in other fields but in the end, I just
could not do it. I was a Zoo Keeper! I was born to be a Zoo Keeper! I loved
being a Zoo Keeper! This was my calling, my vocation, my destiny!
I decided to get involved more with AAZK and became the Vice
President of the Toronto Zoo chapter. Before I knew it, I was President.
Strange how that happens! Toby Styles, one of our Zoo Overseers at the
time, suggested that the Chapter members take a Zoo van and go visit the
two great Zoos in Chicago. So in May,1980, eight Toronto keepers set off
in a van for a weekend in Illinois. We stayed with Pat and Larry Sammarco
and other Lincoln Park staff. After this wonderful trip, Toronto initiated the
Keeper Accommodation List.
My first AAZK National Conference was Fresno, 1981. I was hooked.
In 1982 we hosted in Toronto and never looked back. As a professional
Zoo Keeper, I could not understand why others would not want to join
AAZK. It gave me so many things and it always will. I have friends and
contacts all over the world. Being invited to join the Board of Directors in
1985 was a bit of a shock but a great honour. I was on the Board for 7
years. How the hell did we do it without computers? I'll never know. Being
President and not living in the USA was certainly challenging. I typed letters
and memos at home most evenings, got to work and made 6 copies each
and sent them off to the other Board members and HQ. Fax machines sure
came in handy too.
Today, zoos cannot exchange highly endangered animals unless
they can demonstrate which in-situ conservation efforts they are involved
with and that has a direct impact on the species they want to exhibit. When
I started in the Zoo field, research was not as organized the way it is today.
Over the years, Toronto Zoo has designated entire departments to the
course of research in the fields of animal behaviour, animal nutrition,
reproductive physiology, and animal health. The Species Survival Plan was
developed in 1981. Professional co-operation and teamwork has greatly
increased the survival chances of many endangered species by
maintaining healthy and genetically diverse captive populations. So, going
back to one of my original goals commencing my career, I was involved in
the Black Footed Ferret Program in the 90's and spent five nights
searching for eye shine in the Badlands of South Dakota, December 1994.
A Toronto born ferret from 1993 was identified when I was there and it was
very gratifying.
I have loved several animal friends along the way. How can a Zoo
Keeper not? My favourite species to work with, as a keeper, all ended up
breeding. The European Glass Lizard or Scheltopusik, Green tree pythons,
Whites Tree frog, Tasmanian Devils, Tawny Frogmouths, Hairy-nosed
Wombats, Bactrian camels, and Amur tigers. Team work was the key and I
thank all the dedicated keepers I ever worked with for helping make it
happen.
Rant time:
There are only so many spaces in Zoos for species we need to work
with. There are only so many spaces in Zoos for Zoo Keepers to work with
them, yet it is still a source of frustration that not all the people in
possession of those jobs care or give a damn. I call them pseudo keepers.
They sit within their little world doing as little as they can get away with,
while eager, educated young people are biting at the bit to do the job right.
Another group of annoying people in Zoos are individuals who have maybe
worked a very short time doing basic Keeper custodial duties and then they
assume they know all about the profession. Rant over.
We have managed to save some species from extinction but have
lost others and many are slipping away before our eyes. Habitat loss,
greed, ignorance, apathy, and human overpopulation together with climate
change are taking their toll. There are just too many Humans on Earth and
they are not going away. It's not that all of them disregard wildlife, it's just
not that important to the majority.
AAZK has done a great deal in helping to save Rhinos and their
habitats but it is always an uphill battle. Perhaps we should get T shirts with
the slogan
American Association of Zoo Keepers
Prolonging the Inevitable.
As a young man deciding on a career path, I was imbued with a need to
make a difference; to work at a job that really meant something. I think I
can say that I was successful in that endeavour….or was I?