“I first visited the zoo out of curiosity in summer of 2014, and after meeting the animal ambassadors living there I was inspired to help in any way I could. As a volunteer I would spend my time doing all sorts of tasks at the zoo, from scooping poop to shoveling dirt to doing laundry to scooping more poop. If you ever find yourself standing around wondering why you are so bored and where it all went wrong, then you are not at Conservation Ambassadors, you are somewhere else, because there is always, always work to be done at the zoo. I was kept very busy busting my backside for the sake of the animals living here, and I absolutely loved it. After volunteering for a little under a year I was hired as a relief keeper. Since then I have had an incredible experience as part of the keeper staff, being trained as both an animal caretaker and animal trainer. There is no motivation quite like knowing your efforts are critical to the wellbeing of so many animals, and no reward like the friendship and trust of those you are taking care of. Not to mention the people at Conservation Ambassadors, who are all so passionate in what they do, and quite friendly. It’s come to the point where I have difficulty staying away from the zoo for very long.”
– Mason, 2015