{"id":9808,"date":"2016-01-30T11:33:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-30T16:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=9808"},"modified":"2016-02-15T22:36:25","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T03:36:25","slug":"shes-a-keeper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=9808","title":{"rendered":"She\u2019s A Keeper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Work is a zoo for Nora Beirne \u2019<\/strong>08. Literally.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Interview by\u00a0Ryan Jones<\/em><\/p>\n

Illustration by Marcel George | Photos Courtesy of Judith Wolfe<\/em>\u00a0\u00a9 Wildlife Conservation Society<\/em><\/p>\n

\"zoo<\/p>\n

I basically have the perfect job. I\u2019m in charge of all the primates and most of the carnivores. We have really cool primates; snow leopards, which are probably my favorite cat; red pandas; mongoose; lemurs\u2014just to mention a few.<\/p>\n

Though she graduated with a degree in English, Nora Beirne spends her\u00a0days hanging with red pandas and endangered snow leopards. A senior keeper at the Central Park Zoo, Beirne talked with us recently about her unlikely career path, the role zoos play in conservation efforts, and what she has in common with Dr. Dolittle.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

So how does an English major end up a zookeeper?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"3\"A lot of us in the field always had a passion for animals, and not just the normal kid thing of \u201cI want to be a vet.\u201d That wasn\u2019t particularly interesting to me. I started as pre-med at TCNJ at my parent\u2019s request, but realized it wasn\u2019t what I wanted to do. I switched to English because I was good at it. During my junior year, Pat Thomas, the Bronx Zoo\u2019s curator, gave a lecture on campus in which he talked about the research opportunities available to zookeepers. It sounded fascinating. After graduating, I got an apprenticeship at the Turtle Back Zoo. It was paid, full time, full year, and they taught me all the areas of the zoo. After a couple of months I was like, \u201cThis is awesome. This is what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How unusual is it for someone without a veterinary or science background to get a chance like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It varies. In the field in general, experience counts for a lot. I asked one of the curators at Turtle Back what he looks for in interviews. He said, \u201cA four-year degree, because it shows you can stick with something. After that, what do you do in your spare time? Do you have pets? Do you volunteer at a shelter?\u201d I grew up horseback riding, I\u2019d worked in a stable, and I\u2019d always stayed involved with animals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What was it like transitioning from animal lover to someone who works with wild animals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They started me in a less intense area, working with pheasants, sheep, and stuff. I did a lot of self-educating, and there\u2019s also an animal sense that a lot of us have.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1\"How do you mean? Like an intuitive thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. It\u2019s very bizarre, but I\u2019ve always had it. It\u2019s this ability to read the animals, to see if they look off, if they\u2019re acting unusual. To be able to tell the vet, \u201cI don\u2019t know what it is, but that animal looks off.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is it reliable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d say a good 85 percent of the time. Some people might call that bogus, but we\u2019ve discussed it amongst ourselves. Some people just really know their animals. I mean, I\u2019m terrible at math\u2014it\u2019s just not how my mind works\u2014but if I see a snow leopard sitting in the wrong area, I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat are you doing over there?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After easing your way into the job at Turtle Back, what came next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When my apprenticeship was over, they said I could stay on as a relief keeper. I did that for almost a year and a half, and for the last six months, I was the second carnivore keeper. And then I got the opportunity to come to Central Park.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the biggest zoo, but even so, that must be a dream gig.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s insane; I basically have the perfect job. I\u2019m in charge of all the primates and most of the carnivores. We have really cool primates; snow leopards, which are probably my favorite cat; red pandas; mongoose; lemurs\u2014just to mention a few.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is it about the snow leopards you like so much?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019re remarkably stunning animals\u2014absolutely gorgeous, but also reclusive and shy. And they\u2019re very intelligent. Working with them, you have a lot of obstacles to overcome. But once you gain their trust, it\u2019s pretty special.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do you gain the trust of an animal that could easily kill you <\/strong>if it wanted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My particular passion is training animals, and everything we train them for is to reduce the level of stress. Reading your animal is a big part of training\u2014that, and trust. They see you every day, and you build a rapport with them. Since I started working with our snow leopard, she takes voluntary vaccines and ultrasounds through the fence, she rolls over, she lets us check her teeth. We use only positive reinforcement\u2014rewarding behavior we like and ignoring behavior we don\u2019t like. And then you see the animal have that \u201cah-ha\u201d moment. There\u2019s so much they can communicate to you that you would never expect them to be able to. That\u2019s why we do it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What other animal interactions have been particularly memorable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had worked in the polar area with our penguins for a while, and just before I became the senior keeper, they pulled me back in there because they wanted to hand-rear one year\u2019s worth of chicks. We had some older birds we<\/p>\n

weren\u2019t sure would be able to take care of the young. We had eight hatchlings that year, and for about two months\u2014from as soon as they hatched to when we put them back as adult penguins\u2014\u00adI fed and cared for eight baby penguins. They\u2019re still some of the friendliest birds we have.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That approach\u2014working closely with animals as opposed to just showing them off behind cages or glass\u2014is a big change from what zoos used to do, isn\u2019t it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That really happened in the \u2019<\/strong>80s. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs Central Park, Queens, Bronx, and Prospect Park zoos, and also the New York Aquarium, were forerunners in changing that\u2014the idea that the animals should be in habitats, and that we should be teaching people about them. It\u2019s really about education and optimal animal care.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is that educational aspect part of your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is. There are a lot of keeper chats that I like to do, and I\u2019ve seen a lot of good come from them. They help clarify what we do\u2014how these animals aren\u2019t taken from the wild.
\nAt Central Park, 99 percent of the time, they\u2019re born in zoos from zoo animals, or occasionally they\u2019re animals that are rescued that wouldn\u2019t have survived in the wild. And the care we take of them\u2014the cats get free-range organic chicken. Even I don\u2019t eat free-range organic chicken.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After being around animals all day, do you have the time\u2014or patience\u2014for a pet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do. I have a cat and a snake. The snake is no maintenance, and the cat is the lowest-maintenance animal you can have for high reward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the risk of putting you on the spot: Are there any animals you just can\u2019t stand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spiders. I can\u2019t deal with them, and when they run out of corners, I just leave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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