Hi My name is Hannah Keklak. I’m a zookeeper here at Franklin Park Zoo. Whenever people meet me they’re always like
“What does a zookeeper do?” For lack of better term I tell them “Imagine
you have a ton of different pets.” So here we have our Prairie Dogs! They’re very social animals. They’re kind of like their own soap opera. Franklin Park Zoo it’s in Boston, it’s
an urban setting. A lot of these kids who come to the zoo haven’t
really seen animals that much, even domesticated animals, so it’s great we can bring that
experience to them. Sage here is 34 years old. That is remarkable for a horse. His personality is one of our favorites here
at Children’s Zoo. It’s a very strong personality. Yeah, you’re saying “Hi”? So I work with mostly domesticated animals. That includes our big cow, Roomba, two poitou
donkeys, two guinea hogs, a bunch of goats, chickens. We have to take care of them, feed their enclosures,
feed them, clean their enclosures, but then you’re also training them. Hi! So this is the goad that we use. So if I tap on his shoulder that means turn
right. If I tap him on the top of his neck it means
turn left. Yeah, you’re a good boy! Training is for medical purposes. You know, they also get scared and get stressed
out with doctor visits. So you kind of want to make it like a fun
experience. You want it to be voluntary for the animal. So it’s all up to her if she wants to train
or not. Cordilia come here! Target. Most of the training we do is clicker training. Here, come here. So what you’re going to do is you’re going
to give an animal a cue - Target - and if they give the right response to that cue you
click and they get rewarded for it. Yes, you’re such a good girl. It’s one of the most satisfying experiences
because you see the direct result of your work with the animals. It’s a job that I still want to come to
even when I’m like deathly ill. Hi! They actually get mad at me when I’m not
here, or if I take a vacation, of if I just come back from my weekend. They get like “Where have you been?” Like, “You’re supposed to be here every
day!” So, yeah, it’s kind of wild.
