Zookeeper Colleen

Happy 12th birthday to my BFF ❤️

Happy birthday to the best girl in the entire world! 🥳❤️

A whole day for celebrating the world’s best critters!

1 week away!

The only scary thing about bats is imagining a world without them. They pollinate, reforest, control insect populations, and more! They make the world go 'round. 🌍
⁠
📷 Hugo Willocx/FotoNatura/Minden Pictures

Happy National Zookeeper Week 🐾
A time to recognize the current keepers but also a time to recognize those who have left the field and those who aspire to be in the field. We want to acknowledge how hard the job is for those who are currently in it. Sometimes full of heartache as you may not be close to your family, the hard work it took to get you where you are now and how you pour your heart in soul in to animals you only get to love for a brief time. We see you 💕 I want to also recognize those who have left the field for what ever reason and whose hearts may ache this week as their feeds are filled with creatures and keepers. A reminder of who you once were. I want you all to remember you are not your job but your job was apart of your journey. I hope you look back at the journey this week and remember you always gave your best and that was and will always be enough. You are enough. No matter where you are in life. I also hope that if you aspire to be a keeper you never give up on that dream. It may be an easy journey or it could be long and hard but you must find the beauty with in and remember what sparked the dream in the first place. Don't forget you can always change your mind, you can always go a differnt direction and dreams can always come true. There is no manual. There is no right or wrong. We all have one thing in common and it's not just that we binged watched Steve Irwin as a kid, that we collected every stray animal, begged our parents to go to the zoo every weekend or that when we went to the zoo we studied the zookeeper as if they were a god as they spoke about each animal and spewed facts like they were born with that information. If you're a current keeper I hope kids still look at you this way. I hope that when someone stops you while walking through the paths of the zoo to drop off diets I hope you see the spark in their eyes as you rattle of information about the animal in the habitat in front of you. I hope you're reminded that something as small as a minute interaction can change someone's opinion on conservation. It can get them to care. You can get them to care. You are the reason they keep coming back and you are the reason they decided to take action. I hope you also remember the time that interaction happened to you before you were in uniform, the spark. I also hope that you get lots of pizza, lots of praise, appreciation and even though those things will never be enough to compare to the blood, sweet, tears and hours you've given to the job. I hope you know you're amazing and you're doing great. National zookeeper week is a chance to acknowledge the love and compassion we have for all living creatures and the sacrifices we've made to care for them ❤️ see you later alligator - Alexis

“My, what big ears you have!”👂🏼

Bat-eared foxes, like Teddy (right) and Earl (left), are known for their incredibly large ears. 🦊 Their amazing ears help them locate prey, communicate with each other, and regulate body temperature.

[the boys were 7 weeks old in this photo]

Considering tamanduas, like Isla, are nocturnal, they are not known for being “morning people”. 😴 When we wake Isla up for morning checks and breakfasts, we usually get to witness one of her crazy awesome yawns, which show off her foot long tongue! 🥱Tamanduas have long tongues so they can get deep into the tunnels of anthills and termite mounds to lap up tasty bugs. 👅🪳🐛🐜

Theodor-able 🦊😍❤️

This is Baby, the ball python 🐍❤️ She has been a member of my family for over a decade now, and justttt about everyone loves her. 😅 She has educated so many people and has helped countless friends and family overcome their fear of snakes! Baby is a great ambassador for her species and the chillest member of our fam. 😂