Keeper Q & A

Name: Derek Gossard

Title: Animal Area Technician, Children’s Zoo

Tenure:  5.5 years

Residence: Edmond

Keeper Q & A

1. What do you love the most about your job?

Getting to take care of and experience the animals.  Everyday is routine and everyday is different.  There is always something different to do on a daily basis so the job never gets boring.

 2. Why is your job important?

By exhibiting animals at the zoo, we provide the public the opportunity to experience animals in person that they would normally never see outside of photographs or on TV.   In doing so, the animals need to be taken care of.  Also by exhibiting animals, we can raise awareness of the plight of some of our animals and that can lead to others getting involved in their conservation.

3. What is your favorite Zoo memory from when you were young?

I got to touch a White Rhino.  It was a pretty amazing experience to actually touch a real live Rhino.

4. What is one of your favorite parts or exhibits in the new Children’s Zoo?

The goats!  They are so much fun to take care of.  They are very affectionate and are always doing something funny.  Plus, when I walk into the petting yard, they will flock around me to attack my keys or otherwise demand attention from me.  I normally use one of the side doors other wise, they will follow me into the barn.

5. What do you wish other people knew about your job/being a keeper?

That it is an even cooler job than they think it is.

About Me:

I’ve been in the zoo keeping field for about 13 years.  I’ve worked at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland OH, the Little Rock Zoo in Little Rock AR, and did an internship during college at The Wilds in Cumberland, OH.  That is where I caught the zoo keeping bug.