Team spotlights from Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm!

Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm introduced some of their team members’ journeys as part of Love Your Zoo Week. Discover how these animal-lovers found their careers in wildlife:

Did you always know you wanted to work with animals, and what first inspired that interest?

Cloud, Birds and Reptiles Keeper:

I always wanted to work with animals when I was younger. I told my teacher in school I wanted to be a 'Bird Handler' and no one really knew what that meant! I of course knew what 'Bird Handler meant because I visited countless Bird of Prey centres with my mum and always saw falconers with birds on their glove. I was fixated from a young age.

Emily, West Section Leader:

I think every person in the animal industry will say their biggest inspiration is Sir David Attenborough. Without him showing the natural world in completely new ways, I don’t think I’d be half as interested as I am now. I’ve always loved animals and finding beauty in everything to do with nature.

Georgie, Trainee Elephant Keeper:

Pretty much! I grew up on a dairy farm, so animals have been a big part of my life. I’ve always loved wildlife, especially exotic animals, and although I looked into different career paths and university options, I realised zoo keeping was what I genuinely wanted to do.

What steps did you take to become a Zoo keeper (study, volunteering, first roles)?

Shelly, Primate and Small Mammals Section Leader:

To get in to the Zoo keeper industry is very challenging because of the demand. I firstly obtained a degree at university studying conservation biology. From there I was lucky enough to obtain a position at Longleat Safari Park as a keeper. My persistence with sending around C.Vs to anywhere animal related got me a phone call asking if I was interested in a animal keeper role at Longleat. It was there I fell in love with all things primate and small mammal.

Georgie, Trainee Elephant Keeper:

I studied Zoo Biology at Nottingham Trent University which also involved a placement year in the industry where I gained practical experience working with elephants and understating the zoo environment. This is my first official keeper role.

Was there anything that surprised you when you started working in the field?

Emily, West Section Leader:

How resilient you become. Zookeeping is hard work, physically and mentally. It's amazing how your body adapts. There are also some situations which are tough to deal with, for example when an animal is poorly or passes. On a positive note, it really surprised me how much I enjoy spending my day with the animals. 

Georgie, Trainee Elephant Keeper:

The days can be unpredictable sometimes. You have a plan for the day and then the elephants decide otherwise, and the plan has to change quickly, which definitely keeps thing interesting.

What skills do you think are most important for zoo keeping?

Cloud, Birds and Reptiles Keeper:

All the usual 'corporate skills' are useful. In my opinion the most important skill is public speaking, it is the biggest and most exciting part of my day. People often forget it is part of zoo keeping. It is super important to be able to educate and answer questions for visitors about your animals. It's always the weird questions that make me laugh and keep me researching things when I go home.

Georgie, Trainee Elephant Keeper:

I think teamwork and patience are really important, especially working so closely with both animals and other keepers. I’d also say being proactive as things can change quickly and there’s always something that needs doing.

What has been your proudest or most memorable moment so far?

Cloud, Birds and Reptiles Keeper

By far my proudest moment is flying 'Leah' our Lanner Falcon in displays. I don't think anyone in the audience actually knows how hard it is when I'm flying a falcon, but I always smile when they say I made it look easy. Having a falcon fly to you at 50mph is certainly memorable.

Emily, West Section Leader:

A highlight career moment for me is when I stationed trained 3 otters I worked with and got them all to present their paws for health purposes. Another is injection training a lion I worked with which meant we could give his annual vaccine via hand injection for the first time. Another highlight was when our bear cubs were born in January 2022. So many highlights it's hard to choose one!

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Emily, West Section Leader:

Achieving a close bond with the animals you work with. The animals will always make me smile!

Georgie, Trainee Elephant Keeper:

The most rewarding part of my job is to see the species we work with show natural behaviours just like they would in the wild. Providing the space, enrichment and conditions that they need to show these behaviours is highly rewarding.

What conservation message do you hope visitors take away?

Shelly, Primate and Small Mammals Section Leader:

If a visitor takes any message away with them, I hope it’s that environments like zoos, sanctuaries, parks and collections are crucial to the conservation of species for generations to come. Every single species is important as another.

Cloud, Birds and Reptiles Keeper:

I always try to talk about conservation as much as possible during my day. Wildlife is always around us and there is lots that people can do to help. Little changes like planting wildflowers, making a pond, stopping garden pesticides, having a bird bath, it all makes a difference.

What advice would you give someone wanting to become a Zoo keeper?

Emily, West Section Leader:

Never give up. It's such a hard industry to get into, keep at it. Volunteer and try and set yourself apart from the crowd as much as you can. Get chatting to current zookeepers to see how they got into the field. College courses, university, and internships are all available to help too. Lastly, don't be picky about what species you want to work with when you start. Take whatever job you get a yes to, as it's much easier to start to specialise when you've got some paid experience behind you.

Shelly, Primate and Small Mammals Section Leader:

The advice I would give to someone wanting to become a zoo keeper is show your absolute dedication and passion through volunteering or work placements. The more experience you have will home in on what you really want to do as a career and help in kick starting your career off in a trainee role. Experience, experience, experience.

You can read the full interviews on the Noah's Ark Zoo Farm website.