Wellington - Elise Kovacs, team leader
Elise Kovacs is Team Leader, Herbivores, Birds & Reptiles at
Wellington Zoo.
Get to know more of the keepers featured in Wild
Vets by clicking here.
What animals do you work with?
Giraffe, antelope, ostrich, emu, kangaroos, wallabies,
goats, porcupine, llama, bats, peccary and various other birds and
reptiles.
How long have you worked as a keeper?
14 years
Why did you become a keeper?
I wanted to work with animals and conservation; Zoo keeping enabled
me to do both.
Where in the world have you worked as a keeper and what
animals did you work with?
Previously in Australia I worked with a wide variety of animals,
including bears, otters, hippopotamus, giraffe, oryx, antelope,
reptiles, birds, marsupials, meerkats, ocelot, fishing cat, wild
dog, chimpanzee, orangutan, siamang, sloth and tapir. I also worked
with birds in Mauritius.
What is you favorite animal?
Giraffe
Your most memorable animal story?
As children we had some camels as pets. I remember when I was about
8 going into the paddock when the camels were lying down on their
sides in the sun and sit amongst their sprawled out legs and pick
the prickles from between their toes. When they eventually sat up
we would hop onto their backs and they would graze around the
paddock with us holding onto their humps. They were very special
animals.
What animal would you like to have in your
backyard?
I enjoy spending time with any animal - be it a domestic cat, dog
or something more exotic - but babirusa would be a fantastic animal
to have in my backyard.
What animal would you most like to see in the
wild?
Polar bears, aye aye, fossa, okapi, dugongs and Nepalese red panda.
Hard to pick just one!
Which animal do you relate to the most?
Goats, because they just make a great time of whatever they are
doing and are always ready for the next adventure.
What do you love most about your job?
The diversity of people, working with extraordinary animals and the
opportunity to be involved with both in-situ and ex-situ
conservation.
What would you change about your job?
Nothing, I have a brilliant job.
If you could make one change to help save endangered
animals what would it be?
To change peoples thinking so that they have respect for all living
things.
Advice for future keepers?
Take every opportunity to learn and understand animals, their
behaviour and our environment, then follow your aspirations with an
open mind.
Tell us an animal joke:
Zoo Keeper: "I've lost one of my elephants." Other Zoo
Keeper: "Why don't you put an advert in the paper?" Zoo Keeper:
"Don't be silly, he can't read!"
