The Very Senior Keeper

There's a fella I work with who just celebrated fifty years with our zoo.  When I started there, we joked that he took care of the passenger pigeons and thylacines there when he started off.  Since then, the jokes have evolved.  Now we're up to him taking care of woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed cats

After the recent announcement that President Joe Biden wouldn't be seeking re-election, largely but not explicitly due to concerns about his age, I've heard a lot of people talk about how there are age limits (official or otherwise) in their workplaces.  Some of them serve purposes.  Some of them are actual ageism, and might be illegal.  But when, if ever, are you too old to keep?

I've worked with a few zookeepers who have been at their facility for decades, and at least two who have passed the half-century mark.  It's certainly true, this is very physical job, though the extent of that physical activity varies considerably depending on what animals you take care of and what your facility is like.  I couldn't see myself taking care of hoofstock when I get too old and struggle more with wheelbarrows and hay bales.  Reptiles?  A lot less (but not zero) heavy lifting, but reflexes are key to keep from being bitten.  Carnivores and primates?  Often involves climbing and bending, the latter something that I already have some trouble with, as I've always had poor flexibility.  But I've known people who've worked with all sorts of animals until well past when you might think they should have retired (some of them because of financial circumstances which kept them from being able to retire).

Just as important as the state body is the state of mind.  Memory is obviously one thing - almost every zookeeper I've known, young and old, lives in horror of forgetting a lock.  I've met some keepers who have gotten very rigid, almost superstitious, in how set in their ways they become, and refuse to accept new best practices and improvements in standards of animal care.  Certainly not all of the older keepers I've met - and I've also worked with some ridiculous younger keepers who were trained one month and then got all jaded and world weary and acted like they'd seen it all...

Senior keepers can provide a lot of wisdom and experience to their younger colleagues.  As long as they can physically and mentally do the job to the best of their abilities in a safe manner that supports animal care, there's no reason not to stay in the game as long as they want to.  Who knows?  Maybe it's the keeping that keeps them young.