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We’re always growing!

Hey everyone! It’s McKenzie writing from the Ambassador Animals Team. The last time I wrote a Keeper Stories Blog, I told you guys about some of the ways animal care professionals can go out and get more professional development. Did you know there are ways for us to get professional development at Zoo Atlanta as well? Besides some of the workshops that we host, one of the easiest (and in my opinion, most fun) ways to grow as a professional is by learning about the care of different animals at the Zoo.

This opportunity really presented itself in the last month or so in the Ambassador Animals Department. Previously, I had been primarily at the World of Wildlife Theater, working with our presentation birds. However, as of the beginning of January, I, along with the two other Senior Keepers in our department, made the transition into Swing Keepers. This means that we now all share our time fairly equally between three areas: The World of Wild Theater, Wieland Wildlife Home, and Outback Station.

This gives us the opportunity to learn a lot more in-depth about animals we had taken care of, but only in a small way. Now we get to work on our skills on training, enriching, and caring for all the animals we oversee in our department. This can include things like learning advanced parrot behaviors, getting trained to complete hoof trims on our goats and sheep, and even handling Wieland’s venomous Guatemalan beaded lizard, Bogi.

I think I speak for my fellow Swing Keepers Emily and Rob, as well as for myself, when I say we are all looking forward to what this new swing role brings us, along will all of the new information and skills we will be able to learn.

McKenzie B.
Senior Keeper/Swing Keeper, Ambassador Animals

Connect With Your Wild Side #onlyzooatl