Evidence from placement by

Evidence 1 Part A

jessicam9pho — 2023-12-13 10:44:33 UTC

Here is the first of the two husbandry manuals i have attached for the new species i worked with. With both husbandry manuals i read the relevant sections to increase my knowledge of these species husbandry. I was able to obtain new knowledge and improve my zoo keeping skills by knowing what these particular species required in regards to food, placement of food and how these compare to other species in their exhibits. I was able to build on my species knowledge by studying these documents.

I had never previously worked with Red Pandas or Quokkas.

Red Pandas are very interesting. They are arboreal, very shy and surprisingly will only wee and poo in one spot which makes toilet training into a litter box ideal and easy to clean up after. They are very chill animals and relaxed around food unlike Ringed Tailed Lemurs who are very food aggressive and will attack if you take food away from them. I was lucky enough to hand feed the red pandas some fruit. Their claws are very sharp but little mouths are so cute.

Evidence 1 Part B

jessicam9pho — 2023-12-13 10:46:09 UTC

I couldn't locate a Quokka Specific husbandry manual but i did find this and since they are marsupials and Macropods their care is the same as other macropods such as Kangaroos and Wallabies, just on a smaller scale. We had to watch out for any snakes near the Quokkas and lock them up at night in case the local wildlife wanted to eat them. They were also very friendly and i managed to get a few pats in when caring for them.

Evidence 2

jessicam9pho — 2023-12-13 10:48:08 UTC

Here is the feedback i received from quite a few keepers whilst completing my placement. I achieved my SMART Goal and was brave and attempted to ask for feedback at the end of my shifts. I improved upon my confidence in asking for feedback and constructive critisism which previously i had been too scared to do. It turned out not to be so bad and so i asked keepers each day once i finished a shift.

Sometimes the keepers gave it orally and told me in person how i went but here were all the ones i could get to write it down. There is quite a few in the pdf. I also would routinely check in with the keepers to see if there was anything i could be doing better or if my work was satisfactory. Overall my feedback was very positive.

Evidence 3

jessicam9pho — 2023-12-13 11:15:55 UTC

Here are some tasks i had trouble with or needed extra information to complete and what i asked whilst on placement. By asking for clarification or assistance i was improving my attention to details and following instructions ability. As i completed more shifts on departments i found i had to ask this clarifying questions less.

-if a koala is sitting on the branches that need to be removed, should we leave them and come back to it?

-should we not open the barn doors to create better ventilation when scrubbing the elephant barns with bleach?

-if the browse is still looking fresh is it ok if we leave that piece rather than waste it by throwing it out?

-Are these pieces of fruit small enough for the cassowary and his chick?

-What should i do if the lemurs on the ground but spread out? How do i know which ones to prioritise my watching time?

-Do we need to rinse off the dirt from all browse or just koala browse?

I asked probably a million other questions each day to double check i was doing things correctly but on each department they do things a little different so i always wanted to check before doing something.

Bonus evidence of my enjoyment on placement

jessicam9pho — 2023-12-14 11:21:54 UTC