REPTILE HOUSE

New Zoo Keepers and Leadership Team

We’ve had a lot of new and enthusiastic Junior Zoo Keepers join the team over the last little while including; Ella Smith, Zoe Haydon, Lily Deagan, Keira La Morticella, Mikayla Neale, Bethany Whitelaw, Ziahna Martin, Megan Taylor, Jemma Burrows, Charlie Garrett, Cooper Hills, Jack Eastham and Aruna Bown with many more, not far off completing their training.

Over the holidays, the keeper team were kept busy preparing the rooms for the cooler months ahead. Meanwhile the finishing touches were made to our cricket breeding facility, which is now in full swing and home to more than 100, 000 crickets and provides a very reliable food source for our insectivorous animals.

April ended with a massive night for all involved in the Information Evening. Once again, we had both the Reptile House and Room 40 open, with Room 40 being the overflow and handling room. Both rooms were packed full of prospective primary school kids eager to get a hold of a snake or to feed some animals, while their parents did their best to conquer their fears and try to drag their kids away.  It was a great night and a huge effort for more than 20 of the Zoo Keepers who willingly attended till after 10 pm.

The 2019 Leadership Team was also appointed just before the holidays, with a lot of interest in each position from the students involved in the program. Following some fantastic interviews, the successful applicants were appointed to the following leadership positions:

Senior Keepers (Reptile House Captains) 

Jayden Clarke and Emily Barling

Aqua Scientist - Cody Stringer

Specialist Keeper - Tamalyn Cahill

Horticulturist - Matt Moss

Food Store Keeper - Riley Thompson

Team Leader – Main Room - Laura Bentley

Team Leader – Room 42 - Blake Hopgood

Team Leader – Off Display Room - Jayden Dooley

Team Leader – Quarantine Room - Ellie Pearson

All of these students are working exceptionally hard in their roles and showing some great leadership skills.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be presenting a ‘Keeper Profile’ for each of the Zoo Keepers that form the leadership team as well as other Zoo Keepers involved in the program.  We’ll also be looking at some of the animals from the collection in a ‘Creature Feature’ section, so keep an eye out for these sections and more in the upcoming newsletters.

Marcus Whitby