Operations manager of the KidZooU shares her thoughts on the children's zoo
Tell us about the animals at KidZooU
A flock of heritage breed chickens was the first to arrive. They were soon followed by one of my favorites: the Gambian rats, Nelson, Winnie, and Wilson. Wilson was a surprise baby discovered when our staff went to pick up Nelson and Winnie.
Next we have our many different and impressive breeds of heritage sheep and goats. Our group of Toggenburg, Saanens, Oberhaslis and Nigerian dwarf goats are all doing well.
We also have Arapawa and Angora goats which use the raceway and climbing structure. We are also breeding the Arapawas, which are critically endangered. For display, we have our impressive Jacob sheep, who we also breed. The Jacob ram, Rambo, has been a pleasure to work with, having a charming disposition that doesn’t match his intimidating looks. Our miniature horses are doing well living in the old pony track barn. Red and Dusty are brown and white pinto, Spirit is a light cream pinto, and Flash is our little solid brownish/black with a flash of white on his face. Last but not least, we have more than twenty domestic rats of all different colors, who are housed in the Giant Rat Gymnasium. These rats are all being socialized so they have sweet dispositions, and a few are chosen for our training demos.
How are the animals coming along with their training?
Keeper staff and animals work hard for the trained behaviors that are demonstrated by the animals in KidZooU. Our animals quickly learn agility courses, picking and putting down objects, and many more behaviors that surprise and delight visitors. We demonstrate a few of our goats jumping over hurdles, spinning in circles and walking on balance beams. The animals are clearly enjoying the activities! Audiences have walked away saying “Wow, I did not know a goat could do that” or “I never knew a goat could be so happy.”
What can guests expect to see in regards to the training at KidZooU?
Visitors can look forward to not just hearing what animals can do, but actually seeing the animals show off their amazing skills with many different behaviors that will astonish visitors. KidZooU offers an exciting experience to build a connection with animals. Children leave the exhibit knowing that the choices they make can make the lives of animals better.
Anything else that you want to add that would be interesting?
I have always enjoyed working with domestic rats since they are very smart animals that make excellent pets. When I tell parents that rats are great companion animals and my number one choice as a small pet for their children, I receive responses like “eww, rats are dirty” or “rats bite and their tails are gross.” Now parents can come see our exhibit with forty domestic rats that are sweet and perform all sorts of task to show how cool they really are. I can almost guarantee that after experiencing this exhibit, you will walk away thinking differently about having a rat as a pet!