National Zookeeper Appreciation Week

Posted on July 20, 2021 by NewportAquarium

By Newport Aquarium Biologist, Erin Muldoon

Every year, there is a week to recognize the hard work of zoo and aquarium professionals, National Zoo Keeper Week. Our Animal Care Team wants to take you along with them as they show you how they live out this year’s theme: Zookeeping takes improvisation, adaptability, and persistence! #NZKW2021 #ItTakesAZoo #KeepCalmZooKeepOn

No matter who you are, we all felt the challenges and changes that Covid brought to our world. But, animals don’t know or care about pandemics, so our Animal Care Team had to keep going no matter what. Biologist Rob said, “I’ve adapted to these turbulent times by continuing to push through with projects and tank renovations to benefit our animals and to give our guests the best experience possible”. Biologist Brittney added, “As a team, we had to improvise and adapt a lot during this pandemic in the way we had to care for our animals, but we’ve persisted through it all.” And Biologist Margaret said, “Even after we reopened the aquarium, our touch pool in Shore Gallery was closed for a little while. I was able to use that time to improve on exhibit design and acclimate new animals to the tank so they would have time to be comfortable and ready to go now that guests are able to interact with them again.”

This last year saw a lot of new situations. Our newest Biologists not only had to face the challenges and “new normals” of the world, but had to learn their new roles in our Animal Care Department. Biologists Ali, Katie, and Jaime have not only adapted, they are thriving, and they help our animals live the best lives possible! In addition to some of their basic jobs, Biologists Ali and Katie have been given the task as our kitchen crew and work to prepare the food for every animal at the Aquarium. And Biologist Jaime has been tasked with the care of animals in our new exhibit Shipwreck: Realm of the Eels and has even begun working with the training of the eels.

Another newer face to our team is our Animal Care Coordinator, Sarah. She says, “I think the theme of Improvisation, Adaptability, and Persistence is important to the zookeeping field even in the best of times and this last year has made us all hone those skills in ways we probably never thought we’d have to. For me, it was being thrown into new, unexpected situations and learning on the fly and being able to keep calm and take everything one day at a time. It’s been a rough year but it’s certainly made me better at my job and it’s made us a stronger team.”

Sometimes, the world doesn’t have to throw out a curve ball, the animals do, and the Biologists have to adapt and improvise. Biologist Erica says the Jellyfish love to keep her on her toes. “Jelly keeping is always being persistent because if you relax, animal health can start to decline almost immediately. I have to be able to find new solutions to their problems that work for them, even if it is harder for me. It’s all about keeping them happy!” The Stingrays in Stingray Hideaway love to throw Biologist Michelle new challenges, but she knows what to do. “I take some time to assess any new situation they give me and make the changes that the stingrays need. And, I’m happy to have a wide network of stingray keepers at many different aquariums that I can get any additional help from if I need it!” Biologist Erin works with our alligators and says the ones that challenge her the most are the Bayou Babies. “Baby gators are crafty. They’re curious and love to explore and test their limits. Sometimes, they outsmart me, especially if it’s to get an extra snack!”.

Learning a new skill can take some time, and when you try to train an animal, it can be tricky. Fortunately, our Animal Care Team is patient and persistent when training a new skill. Like our Penguin Biologists, Tamara and Geneve, who are working with the cold weather birds to stand on a scale on their own. Picking up a bird can be stressful, but if they walk onto the scale themselves, it not only helps our team watch the health of our animals, it makes the experience good for the animals. It can be a slow process, especially getting that last toe on the scale correctly, but there is true celebration when it happens! To date, all but one of the cold weather penguins will voluntarily get on the scale!

What do you do when you have to feed a bunch of top aquatic predators and need to make sure that they each get their fair share? You can ask our Shark Tank Biologists, Jen and Kristen! Whether it is figuring out a way to get a sleepy nurse shark to come up for her lunch or how to help the new Sandbar Sharks see where to go, Jen and Kristen use their knowledge and skills to help our big fish get what they need. Like when we wanted to show the Shark Rays how to hunt for shellfish on the bottom of the sea floor, Biologist Jen figured out a way to get the food down to them and kept working at it until the Shark Rays understood what to do. Or, when we needed to make sure that our large stingrays got only their food (and not their tank mate’s food), Biologist Kristen worked with them on target training.

Our Biologists have the opportunity to work with some incredible animals, and a few are on the Endangered Species list. When those animals lay eggs or have young, it is an exciting time and gives new hope for the species. But sometimes, it takes a little patience and improvisation to find just the right situation for these animals to want to breed. Reptile Biologist, Kelly, has cracked the code for a few of these species this year. Under her care, a few animals classified as vulnerable have not only laid eggs, but have hatched! Animals like our new favorite baby turtle, Pumpkin, a diamondback terrapin now on exhibit in Gator Alley!

If you happen to see one of our Biologists this week, please give them a word of thanks for all of the hard work they’ve done for Newport Aquarium and the animals this year. And as our last word, here’s what Curator Kelly had to say: “This last year has required improvisation, adaptability, and persistence, and I’m so happy work with a team of Biologists who are dedicated and exhibit these traits no matter what is thrown at them!” #NZKW2021 #ItTakesAZoo #KeepCalmZooKeepOn

National Zoo Keeper Week 2019

Posted on July 24, 2019 by NewportAquarium

This week is National Zoo Keeper Week. Our Biologists may not have the official title of “Zookeeper,” but they do give exemplary care to the animals that live here at Newport Aquarium. Here’s a brief glimpse into what they do behind the scenes!

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Newport Aquarium has thirteen biologists that care for all of the fish, reptiles, amphibians, and penguins that have their home here. Care for these animals is more than just simply feeding and giving the animals some attention. They also have a lot of food preparation, cleaning, and maintenance work to do!

All of our seafood and produce is restaurant-quality and prepared with great care by our team.

Food preparation for the animals is a major part of the day. The animals at Newport Aquarium have very specific diets, and it is the job of our biologists to make sure they get the exact food they need. A lot of research is done to ensure that we are getting the right food items and nutrients to each animal. If you step into our animal kitchen in the morning, you may see a variety of fish, shrimp, salads, and bugs. If the Sharkrays are eating, you may even see whole Lobster! All of our seafood and produce is restaurant-quality and prepared with great care by our team.

Senior Biologist Jen, feeding Denver, our adult loggerhead sea turtle at his station. Denver is about 24 years old and weighs about 205 pounds! His favorite foods include fish, squid and salmon which he eats regularly, about 3-5 days a week.

Training is an important part of the care of many of our animals here at Newport Aquarium. Animals like the white alligators and our sharkrays are Target Trained. This means that they know to come to a target pole to get their food. Denver the loggerhead sea turtle and some of our stingrays are Station Trained. This means that the animals know to come to a specific location when asked to. This helps the biologists safely work with these animals and ensures that every one of them gets the food and care they need.

Biologist Kelly target training our Caiman Lizard.

Life at the aquarium could get boring if it wasn’t for our biologists and the enrichment they give to the animals. Enrichment can be anything from a new object in the enclosure, changing around their furniture, a new scent, sounds of their wild cousins, or a new food item. Our biologists use enrichment all of the time to stimulate each animal’s mind, keep them active, and help our animals engage in natural behaviors.

Introducing new objects encourages animals to explore, and it enriches their lives.

Animals can be messy, so our biologists have to always be ready to clean! This can be anything from cleaning the algae on the glass, to doing water changes, to scrubbing penguin “mess.” By the end of the day, they might be dirty, but the animals homes are clean and looking great!

Biologist Kristen scrubbing the glass of our paddlefish tank.

Biologist Rob cleaning our Coral propagation tank.

Health care is always on the mind of a good biologist. Daily observation of the animals helps to spot a problem before it starts. And if the need arises, our biologists work closely with our Vet Team to address any issue.

Our Vet Team evaluating some scans from Victoria the penguin.

What day is complete without a little bit of paperwork? This aspect of our biologists’ day isn’t well known to many people. Everything we do for the animals gets logged every day. This way, we have accurate records of what the animals ate, what kind of enrichment or training we did, or if there are any problems that we’re seeing. Paperwork is the biologists’ least favorite part, but it is critical to making sure our animals are well taken care of.

Biologists hard at work doing their afternoon paperwork.

Our biologists are animal conservation heroes. You may have noticed, some of our biologists share their passion with local TV stations.

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Our biologists put in a hard day’s work, but they say it is worth it to know that the animals in their care are healthy and thriving. We are grateful for the work they do during this National Zookeeper Week and every other day of the year!

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National Zoo Keeper Week 2018

Posted on July 20, 2018 by NewportAquarium

This week is National Zoo Keeper Week. Even though we don’t have “Zoo Keepers,” our Biologists give exemplary care to the animals that live here at Newport Aquarium. Follow us throughout this week to see what our biologists do every day! #NZKW

Mission: To recognize and promote dedicated zoo and aquarium professionals year round, culminating in an annual celebration during the third week in July – National Zoo Keeper Week.

Newport Aquarium has twelve biologists that care for all of the fish, reptiles, amphibians, and penguins that have their home here. Care for these animals is more than just simply feeding and giving the animals some attention. They also have a lot of cleaning, food preparation, and maintenance work to do! #NZKW

Training is an important part of the care of many of our animals here at Newport Aquarium. Animals like Mighty Mike and our Sharkrays are target trained. This means that they know to come to a target pole to get their food. This helps the biologists safely work with these animals and ensures that every one of them gets the food they need.

Kelly and Erin target feed Mighty Mike, our 14-foot long, 800-pound alligator.

Our biologists give animals enrichment. Enrichment can be anything from a new object in their space, changing around their furniture, a new scent, sounds of their wild cousins, or a new food item. Our biologists use enrichment all of the time to stimulate our animal’s minds, keep them active, and help our animals engage in natural behaviors.

Kristen celebrated Dr. Seuss Day by reading to the penguins.

There are many types of animals at the aquarium, which leads to many types of biologists who care for them. We have biologists who prefer work with the big sharks and those that work with the tiny dwarf seahorses. We have biologists who prefer to work with penguins and those that would rather work with frogs. But whatever our biologists do, they always work as a team to make sure the animals get the best care possible!

Tamara is one of our resident penguin biologists. Her main job is taking care of our African Penguins. Tamara also works with our outreach reptiles. Tamara says, “My favorite part of my job is learning the different personalities of all of the animals I work with!”

Scott feeds Shark Central in the morning. The sharks like to eat squid.

Scott is a jack of all trades. He is an aquarist, a plumber, and one of the local news station’s favorite interviewees. Scott did our first Takeover Tuesday blog post. One of his favorite tanks to work with is our shark touch tank, Shark Central. “I love working with Shark Central because it has sharks from all over the world.”

Erin works with our reptile and amphibian collection. We featured Erin in A Day in the Life of a Herpetologist. While she is in charge of the care of our alligators and venomous reptiles, there is a special place in her heart for the frogs of Frog Bog. “Frogs are incredible animals. The way they change from their fish lifestyle as a tadpole to becoming a frog has always fascinated me!” #NZKW

Kristen is one of our new biologists. She was first featured in our Animal Experience Specialist Takeover Tuesday. Because of this, she helps take care of a little bit of everything. “I love that I get to take care of many different kinds of animals. It helps to make every day interesting!”

Rob takes care of our live coral tanks. He also helps out in our Seahorse Gallery with the Ribbon Dragons and Dwarf Seahorses. “I love corals because they are colorful, challenging, and confusing to many people. They are a reminder to everyone that the health of our oceans is very important.”

Ty has a passion for the invertebrates at Newport Aquarium. He leads team in the care for Simon the Octopus and the Jellyfish. “My favorite part of working with jellyfish is the culturing and propagation.” Learn more about Ty in his Takeover Tuesday: World of the Octopus Edition.

Our biologists realize that there is more to their work than simply taking care of the animals right in front of them. Conservation is a vital consideration at any aquarium. We at Newport Aquarium play our part as well. Our biologists have taken part in such projects as freshwater mussel studies here in Kentucky and sea turtle headstart programs in North Carolina.

Kelly target trains the caiman lizard.

Kelly helps our reptiles live a happy, healthy life. She knows that training helps the animals get better care and helps to stimulate their minds. She is currently working to train many of our reptiles, including Nester, our caiman lizard. “I feel proud of Nester when he targets correctly. It is very satisfying.”

Jen is with one of our shark rays in the acclimation pool.

Jen is an aquarist who works with all of our tunnel systems. This includes her favorite tank, Surrounded by Sharks. She says her favorite part of her job is “definitely the incredible animals she gets to work with!”

Michelle hand feeds the stingrays in our stingray touch pool.

Michelle spends much of her day caring for our stingrays in Stingray Hideaway, and was featured in a special Takeover Tuesday all about Stingray Hideaway. Because stingrays are so intelligent and curious, she also makes sure they get the enrichment they need to live a stimulating and happy life. “Each stingray interacts with the enrichment in a different way. I love to watch the way each one expresses her own quirks when I give a new enrichment item.”

Introducing Victoria to her “snow spa” behind the scenes. It helped her stay cool during her molting process.

Dan is our senior penguin biologist. He spends most of his day cleaning and caring for our cold weather penguins in Penguin Palooza. He’s taking care of Victoria the penguin. He says his favorite part of his job is penguin breeding. “It is challenging to breed them. I get one shot a year and if it doesn’t work, I have to try and figure out why.” Dan also wrote a Takeover Tuesday for World Penguin Day.

Margaret is an aquarist who works with a variety of saltwater fish. She was featured in a special Tide Pool edition of Takeover Tuesday. She gives her time and talent to the animals that live in our Shore Gallery. “I am currently target training the Snowflake Eels and Trumpet Fish. It is cool to watch them learn and engage with me.”

Laurel works closely with our quarantine animals and those that live at our offsite animal health facility. She and the vet team are the first people that our animals encounter before they make their way to the exhibits here at Newport Aquarium. “The best part of this job is bringing animals to people who may never get to see them otherwise. It makes an impact on these people and helps them become more aware of the world and conservation needs.”