It’s a Goodbye From Me

As some of you may already know, this will be my last blog as Head Keeper at Wingham Wildlife Park as I prepare to move onto a new career path as a small business owner. I’ll be running a comic book shop in Hythe, Kent which will be opening at the start of May. 

I have spent the past 15 and a half years working at Wingham. Over 12 years of that time I have been working as Head Keeper.

Having seen the park go through so many changes over the years, from starting employment as only 1 of 2 keepers in 2008 at the age of 23, to now having 38 full-time keepers and 4 seasonal staff members, it’s a pleasure to pass the baton on to Matt who was our former Head of Mammals.

Over the years I have witnessed many births as well as assisting when things go wrong during some very difficult times. Working with animals wasn’t what I had dreamed of doing when I was growing up, but it was something that I fell in love with.

Elizabeth

One of the highlights of my career as a zookeeper here has been having the opportunity to witness Elizabeth, the chimpanzee being born.

I was actually not working that day when I received a phone call that Tara looked to have been going into labor. Obviously I rushed back to witness this, having only recently found out I was pregnant myself.  It was something which I will never forget and an absolute privilege to have witnessed firsthand. My only wish was that my own labor would have been as straight forward as Tara’s was, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case and I ended up needing an emergency caesarean.

Elizabeth is growing into a beautiful female chimpanzee, and I can’t wait to see what her future holds for her.

Good times and difficult times

I think I may have assisted in around 10 goats being born and witnessed countless more give birth. Watching birds and reptiles hatch from eggs and seeing babies fed for the first time has always been extremely moving as you witness new life coming into the world.

Of course, there have been some very difficult times when animals have not been well and even with the best efforts of our veterinary team and keepers, there has been very little we have been able to do and unfortunately these animals have passed away.

Animal highlights

There are too many animals to name over the years that have left a lasting impression. As I prepare to leave my position, it seems like a good time to reflect on some of the characters which I have had the pleasure of working with over the years.

Julian the Ring-tailed Lemur

Julian was a character in his own right. Oblivious to most things, unless it was food and even then, he would often be spotted wandering around in Julian land, getting in people’s way and generally being a nuisance under your feet.

He was very friendly and would go up to anyone, trying to climb on you, but because of his malformed spine, his climbing was never the best. He was adorable when we had babies around and would often be seen playing with and grooming them. 

Filippo the Barbary Macaque

Filippo again was another big character in the park. He was a real big softie when it came to our little Memouna. He would often be seen carrying her around on his back when they first arrived in July 2009.

Filippo lived out the remainder of his days, eating, sleeping, and chasing around Momo to put him in his place. Even though Filippo was tiny in stature, due to his mistreatment as a pet before being rescued by the AAP in the Netherland and coming to Wingham, he was a force to be reckoned with and certainly had the largest Napolean complex I’ve ever seen.

Faye and Lucas, the Western Chimpanzees

Who can talk about our chimps without talking about Faye and Lucas. These two are proper goofballs with their antics. They are inherently interested in what keepers are doing and will usually come and say hello. Sometimes, they seek comfort from staff if they get into trouble with another troop member.

Faye will want to groom you and is always interested in you. If you have a little scratch or scab on your hand, she will want to groom it off for you. Whereas Lucas will want to play chase. He will race you across their home whilst you run up the corridor (but obviously he must win).

Waldo the African Goose

If you speak to any of the keepers for years, they will confirm that me and Waldo have a history. We do not get along. In fact, I hate that goose.

Many years ago, I had to retrieve something which was dropped in the lake. Waldo decided that it would be the perfect time to show me exactly who was the boss in our relationship whilst I was under the decking.

I emerged from the dark, covered in mud, soaking wet and bites to my legs and arms. Waldo saw the opportunity and attacked me in a confined space. Kind of rude, but not unexpected considering he is a goose. Ever since, I have always made sure to keep my eyes on where ever that goose is. This way he can’t sneak up on me again and seek more bare skin to mark with bruises.

Pickle the Gibbon

I have written a few blog posts about Pickle over the years so I won’t be going into details about this here. There isn’t much to add that hasn’t been said already.

I would however like to say that being a part of hand rearing Pickle when she was rejected was certainly one of the biggest highlights of my time as a zookeeper and something I will never forget. Even now, 11 and half years later, Pickle will still come over to say hello and want a grooming session with me. Keepers often comment that they can’t get her to do anything for them if I’m around.

Final words

The list of animals that I have worked with over the years goes into the thousands. I could probably write a book about all the characters I have met over the years with hundreds of stories to tell.

Many people will say that we have the best job in world, and you know what – they’re right. It is the best job in the world, but everything must come to an end at some point. This is my time to leave my position in Matt’s very capable hands.

To the staff…

I wish everyone at Wingham, the keepers, the hospitality staff, the management, the owners, and everyone else who works and volunteers here the very best for the future as the park continues to grow and develop, becoming bigger and better year on year.

To you…

Exciting things are always in the pipeline at Wingham and it’s one of the things I have loved. It is thanks to you – the visitors, that have made this possible by continuing to support the park.

And do you want to know what the best thing about this job has been?

It’s never ever been boring!