Wellington - Vimal Patel, keeper
Vimal Patel is a keeper at Wellington Zoo
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Vets by clicking here.
What animals do you work with?
I work with primates - from tiny pygmy marmosets to rowdy
chimpanzees. There are agouti and some great birds on our section
too.
How long have you worked as a keeper?
4 years
Why did you become a keeper?
I have always been fascinated watching animals and animal
documentaries as a little kid, and now I get paid to do the
same. Working in a zoo lets me share my passion with the
people who come to visit.
Where in the world have you worked as a keeper and what
animals did you work with?
I've only worked at Wellington Zoo, and have been working with
primates for the whole four years.
What is your favorite animal?
It's so hard to choose a favourite animal, so I won't.
They're all great for different reasons.
Your funniest/most memorable animal story?
We had just put out dinner for the chimps and brought them into
their night quarters to eat. After a few minutes we could
hear a strange noise. We headed over to check everything was
okay, and noticed Sally was sitting completely still with her hand
over mouth and a shocked expression over her face. It wasn't
until we saw her body jump with hiccups that we realized what was
going on. That was the first time Sally ever had hiccups, and
now whenever she gets them she walks off into one of the chimp
'bedrooms' to hide her embarrassment from everyone.
What animal would you like to have in your
backyard?
Swinger. He's a macaw that we work with and he's a real
character. We often have very in-depth conversations in the
morning. It's a great way to start the day.
What animal would you most like to see in the wild?
Again, so hard to choose. A toss-up between
chimpanzees and spider monkeys.
Which animal do you relate to the most?
Probably a spider monkey. They get up to a lot of mischief
and can never sit still for too long, but when it's a sunny day
they can sit and relax in the sunshine. We're all quite good
at expressing our opinions too!
What do you love most about your job?
Every day is different, and you're always learning something new
each day. I work with a great team and great animals, what
more could you ask for.
What would you change about your job?
Less poo! How cliché is that?
If you could make one change to help save endangered
animals what would it be?
That's a tough question as I believe education/awareness is the key
to protecting endangered animals, and we're on the right
track. Even the little changes we make in our daily lives can
make a difference and we understand this better now. If
anything, I'd go back in time so we could have adopted this idea
earlier.
Tell us an animal joke:
What's the difference between a weasel and a stoat? A weasel's
weasily wecognised, but a stoat's stoatally different.
