Cheetah Paparazzi

Kenzie Armstrong
Cincinnati, OH
Cheetah Conservation Fund
Otjiwarongo, Namibia

Pictured L to R: Cheetah Keeper Becky, me,
 Head Cheetah Keeper Lora

Hello! It’s Kenzie again! I am about 6 weeks into my 8 week internship here at the Cheetah Conservation Fund and have a few updates from my last post. A few weeks ago I was assigned the Head Husbandry Intern, which meant I would be working closely with the cheetah care team every single day to take care of all 36 cheetahs in CCF’s care. Working so closely with the cheetahs and the keepers has definitely been the highlight of my time here in Namibia. I’ve gotten to know each cheetah better, understanding their personalities and being able to tell them apart (a lot more difficult than you’d think).

Some might think that being on husbandry every day might become sort of monotonous but here at CCF there is always something new to experience. With it being the busy season, there are more and more guests and big tour groups coming every single day. This means more Behind The Scenes (BTS). BTS are a great way to give people a taste of what the keepers and I do every single day with the cheetahs. For a typical BTS, guests come with us on husbandry to help feed 10 of the 36 cheetahs. They ride in the back of the husbandry truck with myself or another intern and we drive to the enclosures, run the cheetahs, and throw them treats and their big piece of meat. This was a great opportunity to share information about the different cheetahs and well as how CCF is helping save the species with the different programs they run. Working the BTS really gave me the opportunity to work on my public speaking skills and be able to share with people from all around the world my passion for these wonderful cats.

Example PowerPoint slides

I am currently working on finishing up my two main projects that combine two of my passions, working with big cats and photography. Remembering the names and histories of 36 cheetahs is a challenge for anyone, especially new interns, so I wanted to create an easy and accessible way for new interns, staff, and working guests to learn all the information about the cheetahs. I am putting together an I.D. PowerPoint that will have the name, sex, age, history, defining characteristic and behaviors, roommates, fun facts, and photo for each cheetah. Below are examples of what the slides look like. The Care Team already had a basic outline with the information I needed so it was rather easy to put together. The hard part was taking all the photos (sometimes the cheetahs didn’t like the paparazzi). Luckily, I already had some photos of each cheetah from my other project, Sponsor Update Photos. Every 6 months or so CCF sends out update letters to all of those who sponsored a cheetah. Each letter contains a photo of the cheetah and it was my job to take the photos for this round of letters. Being responsible for photographing the cheetahs gave me the opportunity to become more familiar with each of the cats and be able to tell them apart more easily.

Example of Sponsor Update Photos
Pictured: Dominic, Ron, Livingston, phil, Polly, Sasha, Smartman, Jaya, Rohini

In my last couple weeks here at CCF, I will be busy finishing up projects and taking in as much of Africa as I possibly can. I am saving up my off days to go to Erindi, a private game reserve, for two days. CCF has a close relationship with Erindi and releases some of their cheetahs on their property. Hopefully I will be able to see some of the hard work CCF has done with rehabilitating these cheetahs.

Life in the Desert

Kenzie Armstrong

Cincinnati, OH

Cheetah Conservation Fund

Otjiwarongo, Namibia

Hello! My name is Kenzie Armstrong and I am a recent Zoo and Conservation Science graduate. I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but am currently in Namibia interning with the Cheetah Conservation Fund! It was a long journey to get here (6 hour car ride, 23 hours in planes, 14 hours in layovers, another 4 hours in the car) but I finally made it to CCF, my home for the next 2 months. CCF was founded in 1990 by Dr. Laurie Marker and has since become the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs. As an intern, it was my responsibility to help CCF succeed in three main programs, research, education, and conservation.

Currently, there are 36 cheetahs under CCF’s care, 7 of which will be released back into the wild within the next year and a half. The other 29 are permanent residents, working as ambassadors to help CCF educate the public. In order for a cheetah to be a release candidate, it must come to CCF at least 6 months old and display wild behavior. At 6 months old, the cheetah has had enough time with mom to learn the necessary hunting and survival skills to make it in the wild on their own. Those cheetahs that come to CCF younger than 6 months old or have become too habituated to humans unfortunately must live at CCF permanently, as they are less likely to survive on their own in the wild. Jaya (pictured right) is the newest resident of CCF. When CCF got a call that an orphaned cub was found, the head cheetah keeper and the curator made the long 9 hours round trip drive to go get her and bring her here to ensure she was healthy. It was determined that she was only about 6 weeks old. She is now about 9 weeks old and once she is big enough she will move into a new enclosure with other cheetahs.

Other than cheetahs, CCF has goats, sheep, and Anatolian Shepherds to take care of every day. The goats and sheep act as a model farm for CCF to teach local farmers sustainable farming techniques and show that livestock and predators can live side by side. One of the tasks interns are assigned is Goat Checks, morning and evening, where we go out into the goat yards with a vet or vet tech and check all the goats and sheep to make sure everyone is happy and healthy. We check for lameness, thorns on the hooves, ticks, and general health. Once everyone is checked in the morning, the shepherd takes the goat and sheep out in the reserve to graze.

The Anatolian Shepherds are one of the many highlights here at CCF. These dogs are absolutely wonderful and are so important to CCF’s mission to save the cheetahs. There are currently 19 dogs that are working, breeding, or visiting CCF, two liters of puppies and two expecting moms. One of my favorite dogs is named Karibib (pictured right) who I will start taking out during the day to perform Dog Talks to inform the public about the Livestock Guarding Dog Program. She is 8 years old originally from Germany and came to Namibia to be a guarding dog until she ran away to live in the bush for a year and when she returned she came to live at CCF where she continues to work as a guarding dog.

There are many tasks the interns can be assigned to and one of my favorites is husbandry where we go out with the cheetah keepers and feed 23 of the 36 cheetahs. Other tasks throughout the day include Meat Prep where we prepare the meat for the cheetahs by cutting off any fat and loose bones, Pen/Enclosure Cleanings, and Center Feeding.  During Center Feeding the remaining 13 cheetahs are fed for the public to watch and learn a little bit about the cheetah and what they eat. Interns are able to practice their public speaking during this time by performing the Meat Talk. During the Meat Talk we discuss why these cheetahs are residents, what we feed them and why, and various facts about the cheetahs.

            Even though I have only been here at CCF for about 2 weeks, I have already learned so much and experienced so many new things. My next post will include more updates on the projects I will be assigned and new things going on here at CCF!

Only Interns...

Name: Keitha Lear
Class Year: Senior
Hometown: London, Ohio
Internship: Keeper Development Intern
Location: Dallas, Texas  

In this blog, I will talk about the special things that an intern at the Dallas Zoo gets to do! But before I do that, I wanted to share the things I have been doing in KDS. Overall, I help everyone where they need an extra set of hands. I have really been enjoying that because I am not in one place all day and it makes the day go by super fast! I do random things like change light bulbs, clean cobwebs, and disinfect the fridges. I have also gotten to do a lot of fun things like walk a goat named Sugar and hold a bald python named Abe. For those who don’t know me, I used to be terrified of snakes a year ago and now I am comfortable around them and can hold them with no problem! The more I am here, the more I get attached to the animals and it is going to be so hard to say goodbye in August to the animals and to the keepers who have been doing an excellent job of teaching me everything there is to know about zoo keeping! Even though I have known everyone for 3 months, I love everyone, and I am very grateful to have gotten to know everyone as great coworkers but even better friends.

    As an intern, there are many more things we do besides help take care of the animals in our assigned section. One of the things that the Dallas Zoo offers is professional development classes. The classes occur a couple times a month and they are for us to learn more zoo knowledge! The classes I attended were, Zoo Nutrition, My First Zoo Job (How to Create a Resume), The History of Zoo Exhibit Design, Wild Side of Finance, and How to Use ZIMS (Zoological Information Management System). These classes are super helpful because I will already have a basic knowledge of how a zoo is run when I get a job as a zookeeper!

Another thing that us interns got to do is raise money for a conservation organization. Each semester, the zoo chooses an endangered species for us to raise money for and to raise awareness to the public on that specific animal for a week in July. This summer, it was the vulture! This could not be more perfect because vultures are my favorite bird! The conservation organization that we are donating to is the Peregrine Fund. Twice a week, all of the interns would get together and plan out how we were going to spread awareness of vultures for that Conservation Action Week. It was a lot of fun getting to know the intern this way and seeing their creative side come out! During the week of July 6 to July 14, we sold t-shirts, wristbands, and other goodies. We also had a silent auction where people donated vulture/animal related objects and a donation wall if people did not want to buy anything but wanted to donate to the Peregrine Fund. We also had face painting and a photo booth to get kids to learn about vultures! This was a great way for us interns to see if we wanted to work for a conservation facility and for us to see by our actions that we are making a better world for animals!

The last thing (and my favorite thing) that Dallas Zoo interns get to do is do “intern swaps.” This gives interns a chance to shadow other departments that aren’t the ones we were assigned to. This is super helpful for those who want to see all parts of the zoo and for those who don’t have a clear idea what kind of animals they want to work with (like me)! I did a swap in the Middle Wilds of Africa department which have hoof stock and other animals like Eland, Somali Wild Ass, and Rock Hyrax. Most of these animals can only be seen on the monorail. I highly recommend going on the monorail if anyone is visiting the Dallas Zoo! The next intern swap I did was at the hospital. The animals that they had there were ones that were recovering from surgery or illnesses and animals who were in quarantine. Then, I did an intern swap in the Upper Wilds of Africa which consisted of Hippo, Okapi, Bongos, and more! And yes, Adanna the baby hippo, is VERY cute in person! The last intern swap I did was in the carnivore department. I got to see how keepers took care of the Tigers, Lions, Anteater, Otters, and the African Painted Dogs. Everyone in each of the departments were so welcoming and I got to help them out a lot more than what I was expecting! For instance, I got to reward Boipelo the hippo during the training demo and I got to make ice treats for the lions! I loved going to different departments to see what the interns have been doing the whole summer. And I hope the other interns have enjoyed their day at the children’s zoo as much as I have!

               I have loved every minute of being an intern and I will recommend to everyone who is interested in being a zoo intern to go to the Dallas Zoo! They do a great job making sure that the interns are treated like an employee and they will jam-pack all the learning opportunities possible! It has made my summer go by so fast, but it will be the summer to remember! This internship has made me want to apply for a job when I graduate because I loved it that much! My last blog will be about the fun things I have done on my weekends around Dallas! By the next blog, I will be back in Ohio! Thank you for reading! Bye Y’all!

Life at Reid Park Zoo

Savannah Kerns
Class of 2021
Lakeview, OH
Elephant and Andean Bear Intern
Reid Park Zoo, Tucson, AZ


I am well past the midpoint of my time here at Reid Park Zoo, and I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. In our Zoo classes at Otterbein, we talk a lot about enrichment. I think I have truly come to understand how important enrichment is for zoos through this internship. I work on enrichment based projects every day. It has been great to be able to broaden my knowledge on enrichment and enrichment for specific animals and behaviors. 

Early morning swims in the pool

About four weeks ago I switched over to being solely an Elephant Barn Intern, but not before I had some more great experiences and learning moments at the andean bear/tapir/anteater area. I started out this internship by just observing the andean bears, but slowly I was able to see more of the husbandry side. I also go to learn about anteater and tapir husbandry. Which includes a lot of cleaning, creating diets, cutting browse, and deciding on enrichment. I have lots of fun hiding and spreading various foods and scents around the habitats. Both the andean bears and anteaters love honey.

While working at andean bear one day, I saw that there was a dead black crowned night heron in the moat. When the care staff went down to check it out, there was also another live juvenile night heron and a mother duck with her eggs! They ended up giving me the juvenile night heron to take to the health center because he was dehydrated and starving. My Ohio Wildlife Center knowledge came in handy when figuring out the best way to carry him! They are extremely loud though when they are stressed, so I tried to calm it down as much as possible. He ended up recovering fine.

Making target sticks.

I had some down time once to create some target sticks. I made them out of PVC pipe and small buoys. I cut the PVC pipe into various lengths and then hot glued a small buoy to the end. There were three colors of buoys, red, white, an yellow, and each animal responds to certain colors differently. The length of the PVC also varies on what animal the target stick is for. For example, the anteater gets a long target stick, whereas the lions get a short target stick. These target sticks are used for training.

Lion King paper enrichment!
Not pictured: painted balls and cubes with pellets inside 

Sometimes in the afternoons when I was at andean bear, I got to experience some of the lion husbandry as well. One specific afternoon I got to watch the care staff give SQ fluids to the male lion, Shombay. He gets a whole 3000 ml of SQ fluids. They use a large water basin to create a sort of 'stall' to help him stay laying down against the mesh. Then, one of the staff feeds him while the other gives the fluids. It was an amazing experience. It would take me a while to get used to being around lions. Their size always takes me by surprise and they are so fierce.

I love creating enrichment for the elephants. Most of it is food based, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to create more sensory based enrichment. The elephants can also get essential oils, so they are a helpful non-food tool. I use a lot of boxes and paper bags when creating elephant enrichment. I also like to use hay cubes and balls. I have been able to help turn an old water drum into a complex elephant feeder, by inserting firehose on the inside in a crisscross fashion. Firehose is also a helpful enrichment tool. I enjoy making 'burritos' for the elephants too. It consists of me adding bran, veggies/fruit, and pellets to a paper bag and then folding it up. I like to hide them around the stalls. I also created special breakfast enrichment for Sundzu, Mabu, and Lungile. I was able to observe them in the morning when eating breakfast, and mark down on a chart how well they used it and what behaviors it was creating. All of them turned out to be successful! We also create enrichment for specific events! For the 4th of July we created colored sand to put out, and we also created Lion King themed enrichment for when the movie came out. In the theater here, they showed videos of the Reid Park Zoo lions before the movie.

On a browse run for the elephants!
We go to local parks to cut browse. In this load we have
mesquite and pistache. 

Recently I have been able to do some more diverse elephant things. I was able to participate in a meet and greet with Sundzu, where I was able to feel the velvet softness and the prominent veins on the back of his ear. I have been able to toss burritos to a couple elephants, and I have also been able to use a hose to give water to Mabu and Sundzu! I have also been able to lock and close certain doors by myself which is a big responsibility.

I am so thankful for all the wonderful experiences I am having and all the people and animals I have met.