Angling for a Favor

A few times a week, I see other zookeepers post things on Facebook to the affect of "Hi!  My friend/family and are going to be visiting XXX zoo/aquarium later this week.  Is there anything we shouldn't miss?  Or, does anyone want to meet up?"

In addition to the stated purpose, this translates, roughly, to the following: "Hi!  Anyone at XXX zoo/aquarium able to hook me up with some free tickets?  Also, if you were to ask if I wanted to go behind-the-scenes and meet that one animal I've always been dying to see up close, that would make my day.  Thanks!"

I've been on the asking and giving end of such favors before... honestly, mostly on the asking.

I don't know how much other professions are susceptible to this -  do doctors like to visit other hospitals on their vacations?  I would think not... - but keepers and aquarists typically love to visit other facilities.  There's a lot of joy that comes from meeting other animals and other animal care professionals and getting to see things we might not otherwise see.  Some keepers want to see their own counterparts at other zoos - a bear keeper to the bears, an ape keeper to the apes - both to network and to get inspiration for their own work back home.  Sometimes you go and visit an individual animal that you knew and cared for at one zoo at their new home, which is always fun.  Other keepers take joy in seeing things that are a world apart from what they work with at home - a rhino keeper meeting sharks, a bird keeper meeting giraffes.

Also, as an embarrassing aside, we tend not to make a ton of money, and our work schedules can sometimes make it problematic to hang out with friends and family on their timelines (like, weekends... when normal people spend time together).  Giving the secret handshake at the door and sweeping our friends behind the scenes at a place they've never been, giving them a really cool encounter with an animal, is one of the perks of the job that we can savor.  Afterwards, I usually send something as a thank you, be it a box of cookies, an animal painting, or whatever else I have that I think my tour guide might appreciate.

I've been the recipient of many such tours and favors in the past - sometimes from friends, sometimes from keepers I'd never met or spoken to before, but who heard I was looking for a sneak-peek at such and such an animal and agreed to help.  In return, I've always tried to honor any requests for help that come my way.  Even if it's not something I can directly help them with, I'll put them in touch with a coworker who can.  It's the sort of pay-it-forward of favors that makes it all work out.