Blog: The little girl who lived at the zoo and never left

Sue Woodgate, Zoo Business Manager, on a 40-year retrospective of her time at Drusillas Wildlife Park:

Many children around the world would likely say that to live in a zoo would be a dream come true  – and for me at 6 years old it did come true, when my family lived at Drusillas Zoo Park more 50 years ago. Today I am celebrating a 40-year milestone in my career, at that very same zoo. 

I began my career at Drusillas in 1984, starting out as a Junior Keeper at 17 years old when I was handed a bucket and told to go and muck out the lemurs with little to no idea what I was doing. But my deep connection to animals and the much-loved visitor attraction began far earlier, when my parents moved my brother and I from Kent to Sussex, taking residency in caravans in the zoo car park.

Since my first day on the job four decades ago, I’ve cared for thousands of animals and worked my way up from Zoo Apprentice, to Zookeeper, Head Keeper, and then Animal Manager, before taking on my current senior management role in 2018.

I am the longest standing member of staff at the park, but I can’t actually claim the title of being there longest. That honour belongs to three of the zoo’s resident flamingos – Maurice, Florencia, and Ana - who just pipped me to the title, having lived there since 1982!

40 years sounds like a long time, but it’s gone so quickly. I’ve enjoyed each of my roles because they’ve all been so varied, and I’ve always worked with great people and (even greater) animals. We aren’t supposed to have favourites here, but I must admit a capuchin monkey named Barney stole my heart along the way, and I had a really special bond with Humboldt penguin Peter – he had been hand-reared and so imprinted on humans, I was the penguin keeper when he arrived so he saw me as family and I adored him.

In my current role as Zoo Business Manager, I deal with the law, legislation, animal imports and exports and the vast amount of paperwork needed to run a zoo. It’s a more office-based role but it’s such a vital part of the operation and it’s a privilege to take a lead in maintaining our very high standards.

I miss spending time with the animals, but I do avoid things like being tripped up by a penguin and falling into the pool in front of hundreds of visitors - definitely one of my more embarrassing moments!  And yes, it was Peter.

As you’d expect with spending four decades at Drusillas, I’ve been instrumental in countless key developments at the zoo and experienced many successes; the introduction of many new species, successful breeding of endangered animals, educating and inspiring young nature lovers, and more recently my role in the wider zoo community’s species management, breeding programmes, and conservation efforts.

I have, of course, also faced my fair share of challenges and disasters over the years, like the great storm of 1987. I remember having to walk five miles just to get to the zoo as the roads were all blocked. I was climbing over trees and debris, and there were no mobiles or internet then so we had no idea what we would find when we got there. Luckily, we only suffered a few fallen trees, and some damage to buildings, and thankfully all the animals were safe and unharmed.

More recently, we battled through the covid pandemic which was a really worrying time for everyone. People were scared and being told to stay home for safety, but that doesn’t work when there are hundreds of animals to care for. My role was office-based so I was furloughed, but our brilliant keeper team were there every single day throughout the lockdowns, cleaning, feeding, and running the zoo as normal.

By far the scariest moment in my career was a wildfire that took hold in the field next to Drusillas in July 2018. We had to evacuate 1500 visitors and then help keep the fire at bay by forming a chain and passing water buckets dousing the building roofs and floating embers floating all over the park. It was a very powerful fire and things escalated really quickly. We were fortunate that none of the animals were harmed, but at one point we had to put plans in place to evacuate the whole zoo.

As you might expect, the hardest part of working at the zoo is bidding a final farewell to any animal. Saying the final good night to any of the animals is always emotional for me and the keepers, it never gets any easier. These animals become second family, much like your domestic pets would, and it hits hard every time.

On the flipside, career highlights have included promotion to Head Keeper, presenting at the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria conference, and passing the many zoo inspections Drusillas has each year with flying colours. I also really enjoy meeting school groups. I mainly teach older post-16 classes these days, but sharing knowledge with students and sparking a love for animals and nature is always rewarding.

I have no plans for retirement just yet and am looking forward to working at Drusillas for years to come. Although, perhaps not another 40… 

- Sue Woodgate, Zoo Business Manager at Drusillas Wildlife Park

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions.