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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Our first week as interns started off with a bang when we met with Kim Livingstone, a Lead Keeper for the Primate Department at the San Diego Zoo. As we spoke with Ms. Livingstone, the interns were able to get a great view of both the bonobos and gorillas from above.
From a very young age, Ms. Livingstone knew she wanted to pursue a job working with animals. And pursue she did! She drove across the United States stopping at different zoos, and spoke with any zoo employee that would meet with her. Ms. Livingstone started working at the San Diego Zoo in 1988 as a bird keeper, which comes as a surprise for most since she is now the Lead Keeper for the Primate Department. As a keeper, Ms. Livingstone and her team enrich the exhibits with stimuli for the animals, clean the enclosures, prepare food, provide them with medications as well as look after their health, and train the animals in their care.
As most people may know, primates are very similar to humans, not only genetically but behaviorally as well. Ms. Livingstone shared with us that they give human birth control pills to some of their female primates because they are so similar to us! There are even primates at the Zoo that act like children when it comes to taking their medicine, so the keepers have to crush up the medication and hide it in their food. There is a bonobo named Molly that is particularly suspicious of medication being hidden in all of her food so everything she eats is closely inspected before she puts it in her mouth. Just like people, Ms. Livingstone also shared with us how bonobos can show empathy and are able to reconcile after a big fight. Primates, bonobos especially, can be seen laughing and smiling together as they play with their siblings and close friends of the troop. Another similarity between primates and humans is that individuals have completely different personality types just like us!
Ms. Livingstone is very passionate about the conservation of bonobos in their natural habitat. One project that she is especially interested in is Lola Ya Bonobo. The project, based in Kinshasa in the Dominican Republic of the Congo, aims to rehabilitate bonobos that have been in the pet trade, and then hopefully, rerelease them back in the wild. The volunteers that work on this project educate those that live near the bonobos, and their specific importance to the habitat around them. They also educate and hire former poachers to protect the bonobos they have rehabilitated from others who want to poach and sell them for profit.
A major message that Ms. Livingstone gave us at the end of our time with her was that we all need to be more conscious of what we buy and where it all comes from. In the case of orangutans, they face deforestation of their habitat because developers and businesses are cutting down their forests to plant palms used for making palm oil. This palm oil can be found in certain products like shampoo, chocolate, and detergent. Take the time to check where certain products come from, and try to buy fruits and veggies that are in season and local in your area. Investing the time to become educated about what we consume and buy is crucial for the conservation of these intelligent and wonderful animals.
Camille, Real World Team
Week One, Fall 2015
Our first week as interns started off with a bang when we met with Kim Livingstone, a Lead Keeper for the Primate Department at the San Diego Zoo. As we spoke with Ms. Livingstone, the interns were able to get a great view of both the bonobos and gorillas from above.
From a very young age, Ms. Livingstone knew she wanted to pursue a job working with animals. And pursue she did! She drove across the United States stopping at different zoos, and spoke with any zoo employee that would meet with her. Ms. Livingstone started working at the San Diego Zoo in 1988 as a bird keeper, which comes as a surprise for most since she is now the Lead Keeper for the Primate Department. As a keeper, Ms. Livingstone and her team enrich the exhibits with stimuli for the animals, clean the enclosures, prepare food, provide them with medications as well as look after their health, and train the animals in their care.
As most people may know, primates are very similar to humans, not only genetically but behaviorally as well. Ms. Livingstone shared with us that they give human birth control pills to some of their female primates because they are so similar to us! There are even primates at the Zoo that act like children when it comes to taking their medicine, so the keepers have to crush up the medication and hide it in their food. There is a bonobo named Molly that is particularly suspicious of medication being hidden in all of her food so everything she eats is closely inspected before she puts it in her mouth. Just like people, Ms. Livingstone also shared with us how bonobos can show empathy and are able to reconcile after a big fight. Primates, bonobos especially, can be seen laughing and smiling together as they play with their siblings and close friends of the troop. Another similarity between primates and humans is that individuals have completely different personality types just like us!
Ms. Livingstone is very passionate about the conservation of bonobos in their natural habitat. One project that she is especially interested in is Lola Ya Bonobo. The project, based in Kinshasa in the Dominican Republic of the Congo, aims to rehabilitate bonobos that have been in the pet trade, and then hopefully, rerelease them back in the wild. The volunteers that work on this project educate those that live near the bonobos, and their specific importance to the habitat around them. They also educate and hire former poachers to protect the bonobos they have rehabilitated from others who want to poach and sell them for profit.
A major message that Ms. Livingstone gave us at the end of our time with her was that we all need to be more conscious of what we buy and where it all comes from. In the case of orangutans, they face deforestation of their habitat because developers and businesses are cutting down their forests to plant palms used for making palm oil. This palm oil can be found in certain products like shampoo, chocolate, and detergent. Take the time to check where certain products come from, and try to buy fruits and veggies that are in season and local in your area. Investing the time to become educated about what we consume and buy is crucial for the conservation of these intelligent and wonderful animals.
Camille, Real World Team
Week One, Fall 2015
