Opportunity Knocks

Early on in my zookeeping career, in what I like to think of as my formative years, I got a left-handed gift from the zookeeping gods which I still look back upon with gratitude.  I was paired with the laziest-ass, most unambitious, jobs-worth coworkers I could have ever imagined.  Yes, in many ways they proved to be useless.  Yes, I frequently had to go behind them to do things properly.  Yes, when I left for the weekend, I did so with the assumption that nothing other than the bare minimum would be done before I came back, and I always planned accordingly (made sure my feed bins were fills, everything was cleaned extra nicely, etc). Still, there were times I considered it a blessing.

Why?  Because while they never wanted to do the hard work of zookeeping, they likewise never showed much drive in doing the fun parts as well.  

When there was the rare chance in those days to handraise a baby animal, I got the experience.  When there was the opportunity to transport an animal to another zoo and explore that facility (sometimes an overnight trip!), I got to do it.  Conferences?  No one else was interested.  Professional development opportunities?  All mine.  Chances to serve on committees and lead projects that go to steer the future of the zoo?  No one else was raising their hand.

Yes, part of this was that when asked, my hand was always the first to shoot up.  But in the defense of my boss, he really did try to give everyone else the chance.  There were many opportunities for them, and sometimes people would sort of show interest, but never seriously.  One coworker was set to attend a training at another zoo, before he realized he'd have to miss a party one of his friends was going.  He bailed last minute, and I swooped in.  Another was willing to transport an animal to Florida (in the zoo vehicle), but only if she could stay for a few extra days to go to the beach (again, keeping the zoo vehicle down there).  When permission for the extension was denied, she lost interest.

Eventually, these guys all went out to greener pastures and were replaced by a more enthusiastic crowd.  I did regret no longer being first in line (well, only in line) for every opportunity to do something fun and different, but it was worth it for the improvement in the care that the animals received and the all-around atmosphere and culture of the facility.

Exciting opportunities to grow professionally - especially travel - should be shared fairly among staff.  Fairly does not *always* mean equally.  Yes, for one thing seniority should come into play - though I'm surprised sometimes to see some zoos use travel, ostensibly for training, as a reward for staff that are about to retire.  I mean, yes, it's nice to get out and about, but you're spending time and money to impart this knowledge to someone who is about to leave!  At the same time, it's not always wise to bestow too much on the brand new staff.  There's enough to learn at the facility with the basics to keep them busy without overwhelming them.  Also, if your facility has a lot of turnover (a lot of people start off thinking they want to be zookeepers, but change their minds with experience), you're again just wasting money.

Every keeper should have the expectation of having the zoo invest in their professional development in a reasonably timely fashion.  Maybe not in their first year, but you shouldn't have to wait for five or six keepers to die before a spot opens up a week before you are scheduled to retire.  At the same time, keepers should understand that these opportunities exist both for the benefit of the keeper and for that of the zoo, and that the goal is come back with experiences and ideas that will help their facility - not just as a vacation.