Master & Apprentice: Working in a Zoo

\u201cI used to chase lizards around the backyard as a kid \u2013 once I even caught a red-bellied black snake and took it inside to show Mum,\u201d says Stuart Kozlowski. \r\n\r\nKozlowski is senior zookeeper in the reptile division at Taronga Zoo, and has been working at the Sydney zoo for more than a decade. For him, a typical day could involve training a Komodo dragon or clipping lizards\u2019 toenails. But his role took on new meaning when he found a kindred spirit in newcomer Emma Bembrick three years ago.\r\n\r\n\u201cGrowing up on a farm, I was also a kid that was always bringing home snakes and lizards, much to my mother\u2019s disgust,\u201d laughs Bembrick, a junior zookeeper in the same division.\r\nDuring her first weeks on the job she found not only a shared passion with Kozlowski for scales, but also a mentor. \r\n\r\n\u201cStuart\u2019s taught me everything I know,\u201d says Bembrick, who has already begun to pass on her skills to the zoo\u2019s volunteers, students and work-experience kids. \u201cThere are so many things you learn on the job that you can\u2019t learn in a book. You have to get your hands dirty and be shown by someone in the know.\u201d\r\n\r\nTake handling the zoo\u2019s two-metre-long Komodo dragon, Naga, whom Kozlowski has been training for the past three years. Initially Bembrick shadowed Kozlowski as he worked with Naga \u2013 who now calmly accepts head pats \u2013 but he\u2019s proud to report his junior has progressed to a point where she can work unsupervised.\r\n\r\n\u201cSome new keepers aren\u2019t confident with animals, but Emma has been very confident from the start, and she\u2019s only ever improving,\u201d he says.\r\n\r\nAs the pair chat about daily working life, it\u2019s obvious it\u2019s a mutually beneficial relationship \u2013 not just the master teaching the apprentice. \r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m extremely passionate about what I do, so when someone like Emma comes along with a shared passion, it really feeds me,\u201d Kozlowski says. \u201cI\u2019ve been doing it for a long time and there can be days when I feel like I\u2019m doing something for the millionth time, so it\u2019s good to have someone with a new buzz. We\u2019re always learning new things together.\u201d\r\n\r\nHe knows firsthand the importance of a supportive mentor. At his first keeper job at an aquarium he shadowed a senior keeper who passed on knowledge and skills.\r\n\r\n\u201cHe was a real guru when it came to animals,\u201d he says. \u201cHe was an absolute legend and I barely left his side. I\u2019d ask him questions and hassle him all day. I was extremely lucky to have that kind of influence starting out.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhile they\u2019re at different points in their careers, for the pair, a regular day at work is almost identical. They both feed the animals \u2013 including the cobras and rattlesnakes, chameleons and the Fijian Crested Iguana \u2013 chat to the zoo\u2019s guests and do the general cleaning and maintenance. One of their shared interests is their conservation projects, including their recent work setting up breeding populations of endangered corroboree frogs.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in our role,\u201d Kozlowski says. \u201cEveryone comes to the zoo and sees the big animals, like the elephants and the giraffes, but in the reptiles division we\u2019ve got some little guys that we\u2019re working hard to protect with our conservation programs.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor those aspiring to follow in this duo\u2019s footsteps, they suggest getting some practical experience.\r\n\r\n\u201cTextbooks can only teach you so much. Hands-on experience is a pretty foolproof way of testing whether you like the work,\u201d Bembrick says. \u201cAny experience is good \u2013 you could do anything from volunteering at an animal shelter to working at horse stables.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis article is presented in partnership with Hostplus, superannuation you can take with you throughout your career.\r\n\r\n