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As part of its summer camp activities, Al Ain Zoo’s Education Department has organised, with the support of the Animal Collection department, a number of zookeeper sessions for children. Under close supervision, children took on the role of zookeepers for the day allowing them to get a close-up experience of the day-to-day tasks of an animal keeper.
The children were given the opportunity to participate in the daily care of the animals; from cleaning exhibits, to feeding and giving enrichment items to wild species. The children made cooling fruity ice-pops, fish ice cubes and papier-mâché animals which were distributed to the monkeys, penguins and African wild dogs as part of the animals’ enrichment programme to make their enclosures as stimulating as possible. The African wild dogs were particularly amused with the excellently decorated papier-mâché animals that took the forms of giraffe, gazelle, tortoise, rabbit and even a zebra. The children enjoyed watching the animals interact with these enrichment items in their enclosures – one of the regular tasks in the zookeeper’s daily routine.
Commenting on the zookeeper sessions, Muna Aldhaheri, Manager Education Centre, stated:
“We were delighted to offer children such an exciting hands-on opportunity at the zoo. We are committed to teaching children about the animals and how best to care for them and there is no better way to do this than by getting them actively involved in the day-to-day tasks of an animal keeper.”
Al Ain Zoo’s Animal Enrichment Programme aims at providing improved welfare for the animals through regularly making specific changes to their environments. Such changes come in many shapes and forms, from changes in diet to the structural environment, as well as sensory, social, and cognitive enrichment. The keeper sessions, one of a number of exciting new initiatives the Education Centre is organising for children and families this summer, are an important part of this programme.
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