Friends, Food, and Fun at the Zoo . . .
It's playtime at the zoo. A rhinoceros and a goat are playing with a ball. The zoo's crew set up the playtime to let the animals have some fun. Find out how the zoo's crew helps provide friends, food, and fun for the animals.
Animal Keepers
An animal keeper's job is to make sure that his or her assigned animal is taken care of and healthy. Animal keepers feed, clean up after, and play with their animals. Animal babies need extra-special attention, especially in the beginning of life.
Terry Blakeslee is a keeper of animal infants at the San Diego Zoo. Her job is to help the babies grow up healthy and to teach them to live on their own. Blakeslee sometimes feeds the babies with bottles. She says the trick to working with an animal is to act like the baby's mother by using sounds, movements, and touch. Once the baby is strong enough, it can live on its own.