“It’s always easy to have your heart stolen by the animals you work with, but at CuriOdyssey it was just as easy to have the keepers steal it too.”

Please enjoy this blog from our 2016-2017 Keeper Apprentice, Brenda.
Dated 08/29/2017

Hello new apprentice! I’m the 2016-2017 apprentice. Before I jump in and tell you everything you need to know about my experiences as an apprentice at CuriOdyssey, I want to warn you that my experiences won’t necessarily be the same as yours. But that being said, this has been the best year of animal care experience I’ve ever had! As I’ve been told so many times, you’ll get out what you put into this apprenticeship, and if you’re as dedicated a keeper as your mentors hope you will be, then you’ll be just fine.

Coming into this apprenticeship, right away I knew my least favorite part of it was going to be doing the Animals in Action presentations. I adamantly despised public speaking and would get so nervous beforehand that I’d forget everything I was about to say and end up stuttering my way through what felt like the longest presentation in the history of presentations. But it was tough cookies for me because what better way to get the ball rolling than to throw me into an otter talk on a busy weekend day? And you know what happened? I survived. To this day I’m still standing. I disliked that first talk as well as the second and third, and I’m sure fourth one as well. You don’t go from fearing public interactions to excited anticipation for the next one overnight, but a few short months later I didn’t fear the talks as much. Sure, even now I still fumble my words, lose my train of thought, and prefer spending my time on projects rather than giving presentations. But even a month after leaving CuriOdyssey, one of the aspects of the job that I miss the most is the talks! The more comfortable I became with public speaking, the more fun I could have with the talks. Teaching children to remember the Tarantula by telling them that they drink cricket milkshakes or to stay off of the railing in front of the bobcat exhibit because they were in the “splash zone” are simple additions that can make a presentation go from me spitting out facts at kids to a funny talk that they might actually remember. Sure, you might get peed on by the guinea pigs or fear being attacked by the ravens when you give them enrichment, but in the short span of a year I’ve gone from a shy, introverted person to a social, talkative person that misses the good ol’ days of keeper talks.

Even though it’s going to feel overwhelming at first, working at such a small facility is a definite plus. Not only are you learning about the daily husbandry, but you’re simultaneously learning about the diets, who all the animals are, the natural history of the animals, as well as proper handling of the education animals. For someone, like myself, who went from working part time with minimal responsibilities to having more responsibility and trying to remember a ton of different aspects of my new job while trying to look like an amazing apprentice, it can be a challenge. But it’s definitely all worth it because at one point you’ll feel ready to be “checked off” on certain tasks and will want to move onto the next animal you get to learn about and it will feel like you’re suddenly moving at a sloth’s pace. Another benefit of working at a small zoo is that you have the opportunity to be involved in certain veterinarian procedures such as catching up aviary birds for their annual exams, drawing up as well as administering medications and even watching necropsies (if you want to).

When something breaks, while there is a maintenance team on site, most of the repairs are going to be made by you. Need to make improvements in an exhibit or run? That’s all on you. Build new enrichment items or set up animals in a new home? All you as well. This is an amazing opportunity for you to let your multitasking strengths shine because you will be wearing many hats and taking on a lot of different responsibilities. But when you’re this green, it’s a great opportunity to form that well-rounded background, even if you won’t necessarily need something like raptor handling skills down the line.

As an apprentice you have a few responsibilities that are all yours: changing the keeper notes board information on a weekly basis, weighing the ducks once a month, taking care of the Walk-through aviary pond, and creating this blog for the next apprentice to learn from. When you find out that regular cleaning of the aviary pond is up to you, you may become very protective of it as well as the pump system involved. It stops being a chore and turns into a part of your day you can’t wait to get to. At least for me, it was a time when I could tune out the rest of the world and focus on making the pond something I was proud of. Whether I was making simple log rearrangements, trimming grass, or figuring out the best way to keep the watercress growing, maintaining the pond is an important responsibility that I hope you enjoy. And trust me, there will definitely be times when it’s raining and you don’t want to get into the pond, the ducks don’t like the scale that day for whatever reason, or, if you’re like me, you get discouraged about writing on the keeper notes board because you think no one will stop to read it. Regardless, showing the keepers that you’re dedicated to these tasks will go a long way.

While being very serious about safety and making sure the daily tasks get done is the priority, there are so many ways you can intertwine fun into your day. Whether it’s speeding up making the animal diets with “the diet game,” playing with the bobcats after practicing your bobcat talk or having “show and tell” on days that you have to deep clean, the team at CuriOdyssey will find ways to make even the grossest tasks fun. In an amazingly great way. Warning: your new coworkers love having fun as a team and you may be invited to participate in: “cat-offs,” throwing colored powder at each other, face painting, becoming a member of the “hot dog squad,” as well as many other crazy fun activities. Don’t feel like you have to participate, but I personally had a lot of fun bonding with my team and I hope you will too.

By the end of my apprenticeship, I was most surprised by how close I became with many of the keepers. During my previous internships it was easy to joke with the keepers and carry on conversations with them at work, but at CuriOdyssey I formed friendships that carried on outside of work. To me this is a very special thing because I know as I move on to other jobs, I’ll be keeping these friendships. In my opinion it’s extremely important to enjoy working with your coworkers, and on days that I just wasn’t feeling it, I knew I’d at least be coming into a place where I’d be surrounded by friends. It’s always easy to have your heart stolen by the animals you work with, but at CuriOdyssey it was just as easy to have the keepers steal it too. The people you will be working with are hilarious, talented, wicked smart, incredibly fun, and very creative and there will be a lot to learn from them. So like I said, it’s easy to have a lot of fun, but you’ll only get out of this what you put into it. So make sure you learn a little something amidst all the good times.

Despite the large changes and challenges you’ll be facing in the coming months, I want you to know that this year will fly by faster than you can imagine and you should appreciate the time you’re spending with this amazing group of people. They are there as your mentors and you should take advantage of all of the experience and knowledge they have to share with you. Even though you want to show off everything you already know and look like the most amazing apprentice, you don’t have to know everything. You are there to learn and there will always be someone with amazing advice to give. At the same time you’re also there to have fun and enjoy the apprenticeship, so make sure that you stop working for a few minutes to watch the animals and enjoy the amazing personalities you have the privilege of caring for. Don’t be afraid to speak up when an animal appears to be acting differently or appears to be in pain. Best case scenario you’re wrong and they’re fine. If you trusted your gut and you were right, you may have saved them from a lot of pain and suffering. But there are some things that even an amazing mentor can’t teach you, like common sense, efficiency, speed and dedication. Come in with those four things and you’ll get far, not just at CuriOdyssey, but in your career.

As a brand new apprentice you probably don’t come into this thinking that you’ll get the chance to hold a Golden eagle, be vomited on by a Turkey vulture, socialize with a North American bobcat or cuddle with a Striped skunk. Whatever expectations you have coming into this, drop them right at the door (or in this case, back gate). This apprenticeship will be like nothing you will ever again experience, and I hope you have an amazing year. There is so much potential to learn, have fun, and gain the experience you need to move onto the next challenge. I wish you the best of luck!

Brenda O’Brien