The Other Olympians

The animals aren't the only ones at the zoo who get into the Olympic spirit.   At many zoos, the summer also means the Zookeeper Olympics.  Unlike the Olympics, these are often held every year, which is just as well when you consider the crazy-high turnover at many zoos, which would mean that many contestants wouldn't be around for four years.   They are also held within a zoo or aquarium, rather than between a number of zoos, like the Olympics are between several nations.

The games are a series of contests that judge the skills of the keepers, with common challenges including:

• Hose-Coiling Races
• Wheelbarrow Races
• Blowgun Darting
• Diet Chopping
• Obstacle Courses
• Hosing "Soccer"
• Dung Flinging

Unlike the normal human Olympics, there is often also a knowledge component in the form of a trivia game of some sort.

A keeper from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo vies at that facility's 2018 Zookeeper Olympics

I never liked the Zookeeper Olympics much.  It always struck me that the keepers who were the most gung-ho about it were also usually the laziest ones who did the least work during most of the year.  We would joke that they were spending the other 51 weeks of the year resting up so they didn't impair their performance for the games.  Managers seemed to think the same thing, also; you could tell that they were wondering why some people could shovel or hose with so much skill or speed during the rest of the year, not just when a cupcake or gift card was on the line.

We don't have Keeper Olympics at my current zoo, and I can't say I miss it much.  With the right staff, though, I could imagine it being what it was meant to be - a fun bonding experience where members of a team come together to show their skills.