The Littles and the Giants

Name:  Allison Gould

Class Year:  2021 

Hometown:  Pittsburgh, PA

Internship:  Elephant and Conservation Learning Center Intern

Location:  Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ

Hello from sunny (and hot) Arizona. I am about halfway through my 10-week internship at the Reid Park Zoo. Moving to the Arizona climate for the summer has sure been an adjustment from Pennsylvania and Ohio, as it is normal to have 103ºF and higher days here. The Reid Park Zoo is a small, AZA-accredited facility, specializing in giant anteater, tamandua (lesser anteater), and African elephant breeding and conservation programs. Everyone I have met at the Reid Park Zoo has been incredibly friendly and helpful as I have learned my way around the zoo.

For the first few weeks of my internship, I primarily worked in the zoo’s Conservation Learning Center, or CLC area, with keeper Katie Hutchinson. This area consists of the “Bird Run” and the CLC building. The Bird Run houses birds that have been taken off exhibit for a number of reasons or those that are under veterinary care. There are macaws, blue-crowned pigeons, a peacock, a great horned owl, and guineafowl. Also in the Bird Run are three tamandua, which are arboreal anteaters from South America. I had not heard of or known about tamandua prior to my internship, but I have loved getting to learn about them. In the Bird Run, my duties include preparing and dispersing diets, changing waters, cleaning enclosures, getting daily weights on the macaws, and providing enrichment items to the animals. With every day comes new projects that need to be completed. Some days we work on replacing perching or substrates, do extra training sessions, or complete additional cleaning and maintenance of the area. So far, my favorite extra project has been “painting” with one of the tamandua. While this project was a form of enrichment for the tamandua, it was also very enriching for me and Katie!

Xochi the tamandua finding wax worms as she “paints.”

Xochi’s claw and nose prints on a small canvas.

Another one of my favorite parts of my internship has been getting to work with Nimbus the great horned owl. He is a two-year-old rescued owl that is now an ambassador animal. For the past few weeks, I have been working with Nimbus to get him more comfortable both with being around new people and with being on a glove. I practice jessing him and keeping him on a glove as often as I can. The hope is that he will eventually be able to voluntarily fly to a glove. I have also gotten to assist in his regular nail and beak trims and an anklet replacement.  

A wide-eyed Nimbus clutches his mouse.

One of my greatly enjoyed feeding sessions with Nimbus.

            Around my third week as an intern, I started helping in the elephant barn. The Reid Park Zoo currently houses five elephants. As an intern, I do not work directly with the elephants; the keepers are responsible for all the care of the elephants. My main duties at the elephant barn are those of cleaning: morning cleaning of the two-yard habitat, three paddocks, and three barn stalls; cleaning tools and carts; sweeping keeper areas; raking areas outside the barn. I have also gotten to make popsicles for the elephants to help keep them cool during the intensely hot summer months. Another one of the main responsibilities of the staff and interns is to collect, sort, and set out browse for the elephants (which together require about a truckload of tree branches every day!). To do this, browse is either dropped off at the zoo by various partners or must be collected by staff and interns on a “browse run.” I have gone a few times with the keepers to local parks where we pick up branches, usually mesquite, that have already been cut or where we trim the trees ourselves (which I quickly learned is a great workout). Once the browse is gathered, it must be sorted and checked for thorns and any toxic plants that may have accidently gotten mixed in. At the end of each day, the elephants are shifted inside as we do a “drop” in the habitat, meaning that we drive carts filled with browse through the enclosure and throw branches off the back, which is actually quite fun.

            As I mentioned, I do not work hands-on with the elephants. However, I have been able to watch many training sessions and animal shiftings. All training is done using positive reinforcement techniques, meaning that all training is both voluntary and highly rewarding for the animals. For the most part, the behaviors that the elephants are trained to exhibit are important for completing daily health checks, meaning that by participating in the training sessions, the elephants are playing a role in their own health husbandry. I have also had the opportunities to see a radiograph done on one of the elephant’s tusks (on my very first day), have answered questions from the public while the keepers are involved in training sessions, and watched the elephants splash in their habitat pool.

The Elephant Team and I enjoying a well-deserved rainy day.

As an intern, I have been passed around to many different keepers within the zoo, basically to anyone that needs help for the day or just for the afternoon. With this, I have been engaging in great conversations and learning immensely about different animals, husbandry techniques, and the general management of a zoo. I can’t wait to see what the last few weeks of my internship holds and what else I will learn!