Zookeeper experience

Wow, what an amazing day! As a very special treat for my children, around 6 months ago I booked a junior zoo keeper experience day at a local wildlife park. The day finally arrived today and they were thrilled at the surprise!

It was fabulous! First they mucked out and fed the goats which the got stuck into! Then they fed the tapirs by holding leaves through the fence. They were very strong!

After that they headed to the giraffe enclosure where they fed them carrots! They were instructed to hold them out like handle bars so the giraffes used their long black tongues to wrap around them and eat them! It was fascinating!

Next was a trip to see the giant tortoises! The eldest was in his 80s and weighs 150kg! The are from the Seychelles and we're truly beautiful!

They also fed the meerkats some mealworms! My daughter is a little squeamish so she took some encouragement but once she got over that she enjoyed it!

Next were the lemurs. They were very friendly and tried to take the bowls out of the hands of the children!

The penguins were next and they were fed fish. To start with they didn't seem very keen but as soon as one penguin came over to the water the others joined in.

Lastly they had a tour of the reptile house behind the scenes in the kitchen and the reptiles that weren't on show. We saw a flower beetle grub which was huge! Then they got to hold a python! A friendly type of python but it was very big!

They were awarded with a certificate at the end and given a little bag of goodies which was well received!

Apparently it was the children's best day at the zoo ever and my son, who has always said he wants to be a zoo keeper, still wants to be a zoo keeper!

All in all a fabulous day!