[FEL-L] Bizarre birthday gift leaves reporter in the lion's de

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

By HoldtheFrontPage staff 
Things get messy in the lion enclosure as South Wales Evening Post reporter 
Ben Wright tries his hand at being a zookeeper. 


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Since becoming a journalist, there have been plenty of times when it has felt 
like I've been thrown to the lions. 

In my so far short — but eventful — career there have been tough court cases 
to cover, tight deadlines to meet, and then there was the time I was booted 
out of the office to become a bingo caller. 

But never did I think, one day, I would be literally thrown in the king of 
the jungle's enclosure. 

Thanks to the bizarre surprise birthday present from a family member, and my 
stupid big fat mouth in front of my boss, my next assignment was being a 
keeper in the carnivore section at Chester Zoo. 

Love or hate zoos, you can't argue about the number of animals they look 
after which are facing extinction. 

Two of Chester Zoo's biggest crowd pullers have a bleak future. 

There are around 300 Asiatic lions and 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. 

The first thing that strikes you when you come face to face — albeit through 
their enclosure — is that they are much bigger and louder than they appear on 
the TV. 

Any sense of cuteness went straight out the window after I had tossed them a 
weighty hunk of beef. 

In what seemed less than a minute, they had devoured an entire cow's leg and 
were looking in my direction for dessert. 

And my first task as a zookeeper was to pick up their mess. Great. 

Having had guinea pigs as a child I knew all about cleaning up after an 
animal. 

However, I don't think my nasal passages had ever encountered such a terrible 
stench as tiger poo. 

The zoo's three tigers were locked away safely in their den while I scoured 
their enclosure for droppings. 

But I still kept looking over my shoulder like a paranoid gazelle every few 
seconds to make sure Kepala and co hadn't sneaked out for a hack-burger. 

But thanks to the skills and infectious humour of zookeeper Chris Lavender, I 
was made to feel much more at ease. 

"There's a lot of people interested in being keeper for the day," he said. 

"We have had to put an age limit on it though, as we had a lot of teenagers 
coming for the day who were shocked when we asked them to do a bit of work, 
like chopping up carrots for the marmots or sweeping up in the goats' enclosure. 

"We also had to be very careful of the bunny huggers too." 

"The what?" I asked 

"Oh, they are the types who want to hug and touch everything. 

"That's okay with animals like the goats, but stroking a lion, even through 
its cage, isn't an option." 

After seeing the damage their claws had done to one of their heavy buoy-like 
toys, I was going to keep my hands in my pockets when I encountered them 
through the steel cage in their den. 

And after having been both terrified and deafened in one fell swoop by the 
beasts' roars, I was a bit more at ease when 10am came and I was in the safety 
of the staff restaurant. 

This gave me the ideal opportunity to quiz the zookeepers on what it was like 
working there. 

At first I was taken aback by how nonplussed the staff seemed about working 
with an array of amazing creatures great and small. 

But on closer inspection, what appeared like hard-heartedness was actually a 
professional attitude. 

"You have to try not to get too attached to the animals," said one. 

"It can be hard, but you've got to make sure that they are kept well fed and 
that they are happy and healthy." 

So, one cup of coffee and a welcoming chat with my co-workers later and I was 
ready to feed the otters. 

I was primed for the task, but it would mean I would have to put my squeamish 
nature to the test, as I would have to chop up whole fish. 

No matter how much I tried not to look like a wuss, I flinched every time I 
had to cut off one of their heads. 

But I couldn't chicken out, as those squeaky spring-loaded otters had to get 
their grub on time. 

Any messing around by me, and it meant the zoo's red panda and her babies, 
bush-dogs and kangaroos would be getting their food late. I hadn't realised how 
much hungry work being a zookeeper was. 

The rest of the afternoon involved more cleaning, chopping up food and 
checking on the zoo's inhabitants, which included a heavily pregnant bongo and some 
rather inquisitive looking kangaroos. 

"It can be pretty tiring work. I've been doing it for more than 20 years, but 
I still love it. I even met my wife while working here," said Chris. 

After an exhilarating but exhausting day, I was ready to hit the hay. While I 
enjoyed the experience, I'm dreading what next year's bizarre birthday gift 
will be. Fingers crossed it's a record token. 

_http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2007/10oct/071024lion.shtml_ 
(http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2007/10oct/071024lion.shtml) 



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