TULSA, Okla. — Zookeepers at the Tulsa Zoo are busy around the clock, making sure all the animals are cared for 365 days a year.
There’s so much more to it than meets the eye— that’s why 2 News asked for a look behind the scenes, to give Oklahomans a better idea of what makes the Zoo so special. The zookeepers are the heart and soul of the facility. There are no holidays off. No snow days, either. When someone is sick? Zookeepers are filling in on shifts to make sure the work gets done.
All the effort, to give the animals a beautiful life. Take the sea lions for instance. Zoogoers may see them swimming seamlessly through the water doing tricks, but there’s so much more to their day than playtime!
The "playtime" between sea lion and trainer, only makes up only a small fraction of their day.
"We have lots of cleaning to do throughout the day and we maybe have about 45 minutes to an hour of actual interaction with our sea lions,” Halle Moore, a zookeeper at the Tulsa Zoo said.
Moore is one of three zookeepers responsible for the sea lions. Yes, there are only three! She starts her day by collecting food from commissary.
"We do have capelin, herring and sardines, and some squid,” Moore said as she began sorting through the fish.
“You want to sort out the bad fish, get the good fish,” she said.
Moore said to feed the sea lions, they look for the fattier fish, as it has more calories for the sea lions. The process of getting the right fish isn’t as easy as tossing heaps of it into a bucket. Zookeepers look to make sure the fish have all their eyes, no abrasions or lesions, and appear to be in good shape. A bad fish could carry bacteria, which could do harm to the sea lions.
Each piece of food is tailored to each animal along with vitamins and necessary medications.
Currently, the zoo houses three sea lions. Cisco, Reyes, and Cash. Cisco and Reyes are the two main residents, while Cash is vacationing at the Tulsa Zoo from Oklahoma City while a new facility is being built.
Cisco is 12, and Ryes is 11. Both were rescued from the wild, finding their homes at the Tulsa Zoo 10 years ago. Cisco suffered a shark bite and Reyes an eye infection. Both may not realize it, but the behaviors they're learning are for the good of their overall health.
“Cisco, I’m actually in the beginning stages of blood draw with him,” Moore said.
Drawing blood is a complicated behavior, where Moore works with the sea lion to get him used to a needle prick by placing a warm towel on his flipper and advancing from there. Other behaviors include teaching them to take eye drops, get on the scale, and so much more.
Moore said seeing the animals learn new behaviors is rewarding.
“When we see them making breakthroughs in a training session, when they are learning something new and see that lightbulb go off, it's like yes, you're communicating with an animal in a training session,” she said.
While these zookeepers work is round the clock, to them, it's like caring for family.
"I hope that they would say they love their home here and they love that they were rescued and brought here, and that we take great care of them every day.” Moore said.
The zookeepers spend most of their time cleaning and maintaining the environment for the sea lions, but they wear many hats. They are also certified in scuba diving so they can clean the sea lions’ tank. If you’d like to visit the Tulsa Zoo, you can find more information here. https://tulsazoo.org/
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