While Paradise Wildlife Park may have closed its doors for a little while, that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty of work to do! With animals to feed and keep safe, we've asked our friends at the wildlife park to tell us all about the heroes who are keeping things running, and most importantly keeping their many animals happy. So, take a peek behind the scenes, and get to know the keepers who are working hard to take care of Paradise Wildlife Park's magnificent beasts.
Jamie
Jamie has been a zoo keeper at Paradise Wildlife Park for just under a year and he loves the variety that comes with being a keeper. Jamie enjoys taking care of all the different animals at the park and helping out the other sections on the animal park where he can, but he especially likes working with our African Penguins! When the park reopens, he hopes to see lots of visitors come and enjoy the animals again and learn about all that the charity does for education and conservation.
Karen
Karen is one of Paradise’s interns! She has grown up with a passion for animals and ecology; watching nature documentaries and exploring the back garden for bugs and insects! Paradise is proud to offer young people a brilliant chance to experience zoo keeping and being able to take care of some amazing animals every day. Karen loves working in a happy and friendly zoo keeper team, while also getting to learn about animals to support her education. Her favourite animal is the African Leopard!
Claire
Claire is one of our zoo keeper veterans. She has taken care of our animals at Paradise for 24 years! She started off as a volunteer keeper and now is one of our permanent keepers. Claire’s favourite memory of her career was actually her first day. She loved getting her chance to experience all the different animals, from insect to big cat! Claire says that her spirit animal is a sloth because she “likes to laze around on my days off” – and don’t we all.
Rob
Rob is one of our Bird and Small Mammals & Primate keepers. Rob loves working with a wide range of different species but one that stays close to his heart are our lemurs. Outside of the park, Rob is a keen photographer and aviation fanatic. On his days off, you might spot Rob roaming the park and other zoos snapping shots of the animals or at a local air show. Rob loves educating our visitors all about wildlife so make sure you check out his keeper talks at the park!
Make sure to come see Jamie, Karen, Claire and Rob when the park re-opens to the general public again. We are so excited to welcome you back to Paradise Wildlife Park again!