Hamilton - John Ray, Primary Rainforest Keeper
John Ray is Primary Rainforest Keeper at Hamilton Zoo.
Get to know more of the keepers featured in Wild
Vets by clicking here.
What animals do you work with?
Primates
Why did you become a zoo keeper?
A pure passion for animals
Your funniest/most memorable animal story?
I was once cleaning out a tapir den when a tapir managed to slide
the latch on the other side of the door, locking me inside. There
was no way to open the door from the inside so I had to subtlety
radio for one of the other keepers to let me out.
Any memorable stories from the vet clinic?
No
What animal would you like to have in your
backyard?
Orang-utans
What animal would you most like to see in the
wild?
Any, as long as they are happy
Where in the world have you worked and what animals did you
treat there?
At Adelaide Zoo in South Australia, I worked with
primates and birds.
Which animal do you relate to the most?
Chimpanzees
What do you love most about your job?
Chimpanzees
What would you change about your job?
I'd like to spend more time working with chimps
If you could make one change to help save endangered
animals what would it be?
I'd like to educate people about simple, everyday
behavioural changes that they can make to benefit conservation
efforts. A lot of people think that supporting conservation is
harder than it actually is.
Advice for future zoo keepers?
Go for it!
Tell us an animal joke:
What do you call a chimpanzee wearing ear-muffs?
Anything you like! He can't hear you!
