How zoos care for animals!

0:00SPEAKER_03:Hey orbiters! This episode is possible thanks to Level Up Texas, powered by Texas AM University. We hope you enjoy it.

0:11SPEAKER_00:Hey parents, Rob here. This week we're continuing the Cool Jobs series in collaboration with Level Up Texas and the Texas AM Office for Youth Engagement. We're exploring eight exciting STEM careers and the science behind their jobs. These episodes are also available in Spanish on our sister podcast, Cranio, Ciencia para niños curiosos. Okay, let's get started. Uh okay. Deep breath, Rob. You can do this. Thanks, Hank. I know you believe in me. It's my first day on the job at the zoo.

0:47SPEAKER_00:So far, I've been given this cart with a bunch of animal lunches. And one very important rule. Do not mix up the lunches. Woo! Hank says if I mix these up, I have to clean the entire monkey enclosure with a toothbrush. Alright, orbiters, I really need your help. Let's take a look at these lunches and you guess which animal they belong to. Ready? First up, a bucket of small fish. Orbiters, help me out. Who needs this bucket of fish for lunch? Yeah, nice start.

1:27SPEAKER_00:Okay, next one. Looks like a big pile of grass. Who's our green gobbling grazer? Nailed it. You're good at this. Now, uh, uh-oh. A huge chunk of meat. Orbiters, please help me get this right. Who eats this? Yeah, I think you're right about that one. Okay, last one. Some yummy fresh fruit. Who's this for? You know, all this responsibility has me realizing something. Feeding animals isn't just about food. It's about knowing the animals, understanding what they need, and taking really, really good care of them.

2:13SPEAKER_00:Woo! Yes, Hank, animals like you. Today, we're going behind the scenes to learn what happens in zoos, the jobs people do there, and how humans can care for some of the coolest animals on Earth. And you orbiter sent in some amazing questions.

2:37SPEAKER_10:Why do zoos have so long animals but not others? What does rehabilitation in a zoo mean?

2:44SPEAKER_08:And what's it like to be the zookeeper?

2:47SPEAKER_00:And to help us out, we found an incredible guest. His name is Andreyu, and I think he gets to work at one of the coolest places in the world.

2:55SPEAKER_01:Hello, orbiters. My name is Andreu Popolakis, and I'm the coordinator of animal programs here at the San Antonio Zoo, and I work for the Education Department.

3:03SPEAKER_00:Sounds awesome, right, orbiters? I can't wait to get started. Oh, almost forgot. Right after I finish passing out the rest of these lunches. Hey parents and teachers. Listen for moments in each episode of Orbit to pause and discuss as a family or class. Research shows that these conversations help kids process what they're learning and develops their interest in science. Let's get started with our first question. Go ahead, orbiters.

3:36SPEAKER_07:Hello, Orbit. My name is Amiga. I am eight years old. I live in Venezuela, and my question is, what is a zoo?

3:46SPEAKER_05:Thank you. Hi Yorbid, my name is Igrin Mostajo. I am nine years old. I live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. And my question is, what exactly is a zoo?

3:57SPEAKER_04:Thank you, bye. Hi Yorbit, my name is Nicolas. I am nine years old. And I have a question. What what exactly is a zoo? Thank you.

4:10SPEAKER_00:You know, when I was growing up, my mom used to say my room was like a zoo. But I don't think that's what y'all mean. Hey Andreou, what exactly is a zoo?

4:19SPEAKER_01:Perfect, that's a great question. So Sios are a special place where people can meet animals from all around the world and learn about them and how to protect them. Sioux also take care of animals, teach guests about them, and help them to protect endangered species throughout conservation programs.

4:36SPEAKER_00:Hold up! New word alert! An endangered species is a plant, animal, or fungus that has very few left in the world. That means if people don't help protect it, it might disappear forever. People like Andreo at zoos and wildlife organizations work really hard to help protect them. Hey orbiters, how about we do our first activity? I'll name five endangered species. First, I want you to act out each species using your body. Then, you can pause to talk as a family or with a friend.

5:09SPEAKER_00:If you worked in a zoo or a wildlife organization, which plant or animal would you most like to help protect? 1. A fish, like the small tooth sawfish. 2. A bird, like the California condor. 3. A mammal, like the orangutane. 4. An insect like the rusty patched bumblebee. Or five, a plant like the giant sequoia tree. Okay, you can pause here to talk about the animal you want to help protect. Next up, let's get to a really great question from our friends, Lily and Luna.

6:09SPEAKER_10:Hi, my name's Lily. I'm nine years old and I'm from Florida. My question is, why do zoos have some animals but not others? Hi, my name is Luna.

6:24SPEAKER_06:I'm six years old and I live in New York. My question is what animals live in zoo? Bye bye.

6:40SPEAKER_00:I was wondering the same thing. Like Hank, for example. Hank doesn't live in a zoo, and the squirrel that lives outside my home that I'm pretty sure threw an acorn at me yesterday. Well, it doesn't live in a zoo either. So which animals can we find in zoos, Andreou?

6:57SPEAKER_01:That's a great question, Lona. So here at the Sioux, we take care of many different species of animals. Just here at San Antonio Sioux we have over 750 different species. We have from mammals like giraffes, lions, to like reptiles, birds, amphibians, and many different kinds of animals. And the important thing is that here at the Sioux, we get to see animals that sometimes, some people, we might never get to see them on the wild. So it's really cool and really important to see all these animals here at the Sioux.

7:23SPEAKER_00:Wow, there's 750 species? That's more animals than I have socks. And I have a lot of socks. Most of them don't have matches anymore. And some of them have holes.

7:35SPEAKER_02:Woo!

7:35SPEAKER_00:Oh, right. Thanks, Hank. Something else I learned is that animals in zoos are often part of conservation efforts. Or they need specialized care, or they help people learn about wildlife. We'll learn more about things like rehabilitation and breeding programs in a bit. But first, Josh has a really interesting question.

8:00SPEAKER_07:My name is Josh, and I live in Houston, Texas. And my question is, how do animals get into the zoo?

8:08SPEAKER_01:Great question, Josh. So yes, pretty much it works very similar to what we do with our dogs and cats. Whenever we have to take them to like veterinarian visits or anything like that, we have a specific transport carrier for those animals. Same thing will gonna work here at the zoo. So for the zoos, we have it's designated and special carriers that we're gonna design specifically for each need that each animal will have. And we'll use those carriers to either transport them around the Sioux for different habitats or whenever they have to go to different bed visits or even travel to other zoos.

8:39SPEAKER_00:Special carriers make a lot of sense. A lion probably wouldn't be happy being transported in a fish tank. Hey orbiters, what kind of vehicle would you ride in if you were an animal? A giraffe limo, a hamster hovercraft, a salamander spacecraft? Let's go to our next question.

9:05SPEAKER_10:Hi, my name is Juliana. I'm six years old and a half, and I live in Virginia. And my question is, how do they take care of the animals?

9:21SPEAKER_09:Bye. Hi, my name is Kenji. I live in Pasadena, California. I'm six years old, and my question is, do the animals in the zoo get sick and how do you help them?

9:36SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I want to know that too. I can tell when Hank is sick, for example, but there's only one of Hank and one of me, and it's pretty obvious when Hank ate something bad and threw up on the carpet. But Andreu, you said that your zoo has more than 750 species. So how could you possibly keep up with all of them?

10:02SPEAKER_01:Nice question. So, yes, so pretty much everyone here at the zoo takes a big role on that. So, for example, from our animal care specialists, which are the ones that take care of daily basis of all of our animals, they have eyes on our animals every single day. But we also have our director of animal well-being, which makes uh they are the ones making sure that all of our animal care specialists are doing a great job. And also we have, of course, a full team of veterinarians that if anytime one of our animals is not feeling quite well, they're gonna be the ones taking care of and helping us out to making sure that our animals are safe and doing a great time here at the city.

10:36SPEAKER_01:Whoa!

10:37SPEAKER_00:So animal care specialists, the director of animal well-being, and veterinarians. That sounds like a great team. Hey Andreyu, I was wondering, do you use technology when caring for animals and orbiters? Before we hear from Andreyu, what do you think? I'll give four options. You tell me which ones you think zoos use. Do zoos use A animal spy cameras? B giant computer programs, C, fancy medical machines like X-rays or D. All of the above.

11:15SPEAKER_01:Let's see if you got it right. Nice, that's a really good question. So here we have all sorts of different kinds of technologies. It all depends on what area do you work. For example, some people, some of our staff members, we use remote cameras. We're gonna be using these cameras to be able to monitor the behavior of each animal without having to be intervening with them or whenever our animal care specialists are not around. We also use microchips to be able to identify each different animal.

11:41SPEAKER_01:We use computer software to be able to track enrichment, uh, training plans, bed visits, and also we have very fancy like X-ray machines, ultrasound machines, and even MRI machines that we use on the veterinarian side of things too. So we have all sorts of technologies and we use all that for a daily basis to take care of our animals.

11:59SPEAKER_00:Whoa! So yeah, zoos are basically part animal hospital, part science lab, part animal spy headquarters. Hey, I think I'm ready to move around and maybe wiggle a little bit. How about we take a pause for a mystery sound? We'll play the sound three times. You can wiggle while you listen and think about what the sound is. Think you got it? I'll give you a hint. Is it a cheetah? Is it an ostrich? Or is it a crocodile? Stick around to the end for the answer.

12:51SPEAKER_00:Hey, Andreu. When we talk about zoos, I sometimes hear the word rehabilitation. Kenji and I have a question about this.

13:00SPEAKER_09:Hello orbiters, my name is Kenji. I live in Pasadena, California. My question is, what does rehabilitation in a zoo mean?

13:15SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so rehabilitation is whenever we step in and help injured or sick or even orphaned animals to get healthy again so they can return back to the well. But in some cases, they're not gonna be able to return back to the well so they live the rest of life under human care. Uh usually dedicated organizations will let suits know if there is a specific animal that they are not gonna be able to go back into the well in order to give them to a different kind of suit.

13:40SPEAKER_01:So it all depends, but rehabilitation pretty much means that we're gonna help these animals to hopefully get back into the well, and if that's not possible, we'll make sure that they have the best care here.

13:49SPEAKER_00:You know, the team at the San Antonio Zoo told me a really cool story about rehabilitation. There's a very rare species in Texas called the rough-footed mud turtle. Try saying that three times fast. As far as animal names go, rough-footed mud turtle is one of my favorites. It makes me picture a little turtle with muddy feet and a serious, don't mess with me, kind of face. Like a little tough guy. One day, a rancher in a place called Martha, Texas, found six of these little fellas on his land.

14:21SPEAKER_00:But they were sick with a skin infection. So the San Antonio Zoo and Texas Parks and Wildlife stepped in like a bunch of turtle superheroes. That's Mayan Hank's favorite kind of superhero. Woo! And they fixed their skin infection, and when they were ready, brought the turtles back to their home in Marfa. Hey, Andreo, one more thing I'm curious about. The other day, I was at the flamingo exhibit in my favorite zoo. As I usually do, I was trying to stand on one leg longer than the flamingos.

14:54SPEAKER_00:I always lose. Anyways, I heard one of the animal caretakers talking about something called a breeding program.

15:01SPEAKER_01:What is that? Perfect. So breeding program basically means that they're gonna have different animals that they're gonna breed them here at the zoo in order to preserve the species in the wild.

15:11SPEAKER_00:Andrea's friends at the San Antonio Zoo told me about a special breeding program called the Texas Horned Lizard Reintroduction Project. It's a long name for a cool little animal. The zoo helps this super awesome looking reptile called a Texas Horned Lizard to reproduce. Then they raise the baby Texas horned lizards from hatchlings to adults and prepare them for life in the wild. Hey, Andreou. Your job sounds so cool. You work around animals all day, you help with training and even support rehabilitation and breeding programs.

15:45SPEAKER_00:That reminds me of this question from Wells.

15:48SPEAKER_08:My name is Wells, I'm from Houston, Texas. I'm five years old, and what's it like to be the zookeeper?

15:54SPEAKER_00:Hey Andreou, can you tell us what your job at a zoo is like?

16:03SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so for me as an animal programs coordinator, my top priority is making sure that all of our animals are doing great and are ready to go to programs. That includes husbandry, enrichment, training, but also making sure what all of our co-workers and the animals are ready to participate in programs.

16:20SPEAKER_00:Another new word alert. You said husbandry. I've never heard of that. Sounds kind of like helping animals get married. But I don't think that's right because I've never seen a walrus get married. Or maybe I was just never invited to the wedding. Can you help explain what husbandry means?

16:40SPEAKER_01:So husbandry for us is basically our daily uh activities that we have to do for all of our animals. That includes feeding, giving them fresh water, making sure their heatlamps are working, UV lights are working, pretty much everything that the animal needs on a daily basis.

16:54SPEAKER_00:Husbandry sounds like a great deal for animals. But I'm curious, Andrew, how did you learn to work with animals and people like you do? Perfect.

17:03SPEAKER_01:So the way that I learned to do my job will be a combination of both experience and education. And experience can come by volunteer opportunities, internship opportunities, or even at home. For example, a big part of my experience came from home. Both my parents are veterinarians, so thanks to that, I was able to learn how to take care of animals since I was very little, and I was always around animals, so that was a great experience for me. That's cool.

17:26SPEAKER_01:So you found something you were interested in by learning from your family. But also education. I came here to the US for college. I graduated with a degree in environmental science, and that helped me out to understand even more what the animals need and also what their environment that they live in needs in order to be protected.

17:44SPEAKER_00:Studying environmental science in college sounds super cool. So basically, you didn't just learn about animals, you learned about their whole neighborhood. The trees, the water, the bugs, the weather, even the poop cycle. I know Hank, the poop cycle is something you are always very interested in. Hey, Andrea, can you help me with this question that Mylam said?

18:06SPEAKER_03:Hey, it's me, Myam. I'm seven years old and I live in Houston, Texas. My question is, what kinds of jobs are there at zoos?

18:16SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so here at the zoo we have many different kinds of jobs. We like to say this is kind of like a small city, so we have just for everything. But if you want to work specifically with animals, we have our animal care specialists that work with reptiles, mammals, birds, and any other kind of animal. We also have our nutritionists, conservationists, uh, we have our veterinarian staff, bed technicians, and all those positions that work directly with animals.

18:38SPEAKER_01:But again, here at the zoo is a small city, so we have just for everything. So even if you want to participate and be part of the zoo and you don't want to work exactly related with animals, we have jobs like maintenance, IT, consumer events, marketing, finance, and all those kind of jobs. You can still be part of the zoo and not have to work related to animals at all times.

18:57SPEAKER_00:Wow, that does sound like a small city. I bet the anteater is the mayor, and the frogs are the police officers, and the ostriches are the firefighters, and the pythons, they're the oh right. Hey orbiters, let's take a moment to talk about this. Let's imagine you wake up one day and you're gonna go work at a zoo. Which of the following jobs would you find most exciting? I want you to raise your pinky finger as high as you can when you hear a job that you would enjoy.

19:29SPEAKER_00:Kind of like you're trying to touch the top of a giraffe's head. A. An animal care specialist who works every day directly with animals. B. A veterinarian who treats sick and hurt animals. C. A nutritionist who is kind of like a chef for animals, making sure they have delicious food that helps them grow strong. D. A business person, helping the zoo attract families and stay open. Or E. A technology person, making sure all the fancy technology we talked about earlier is working.

20:04SPEAKER_00:You can pause the episode to talk as a family or with a friend about what gets you most excited. Hey, Andreou, those jobs sound pretty different. So do they have like different educations and stuff?

20:21SPEAKER_01:Yeah, this is a great question. So it really all depends what kind of area do you want to work in. So, for example, an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree is great if you want to be animal care specialist or work those kind of jobs, that will work amazingly, and education is super important. If you want to move on to a little more higher opportunities, maybe a master's will even be excellent. Or for example, researchers and conservations, a lot of them they have uh Ph degrees.

20:45SPEAKER_01:That is also super important. But if you want to work in other areas, let's say if you wanna be a licensed or a certified veterinarian technician, that's also really good, or even going to bed school, that's also super good too. So it depends on the area that you want to go, but education is super important and also experience. All those things tied up together is super important and be able to give you an opportunity to be part of a Wow.

21:06SPEAKER_00:Hank and I were trying to keep track of all those options, but then we saw a squirrel and got distracted. Let's go over those again. You can get a certificate and be a veterinary technician. You can get an associate's degree, which takes two years, or a bachelor's degree, which takes four years, and become an animal care specialist. You can get a master's degree or a PhD and do science research with animals. Or you can get a professional degree by going to school to become a veterinarian.

21:37SPEAKER_00:And hey, Andreu, what kinds of orbiters might enjoy working at a zoo someday?

21:41SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so if you love being outside, if you love animals, if you are super curious to learn more about nature, definitely working at a zoo will be the place for you.

21:49SPEAKER_00:Hank, that description sounds a lot like you and me, don't you think?

21:53unknown:Woo!

21:55SPEAKER_00:Hey orbiters! I'm ready for a quick wiggle break. Why don't we do this? To help me prepare for the next time I visit the flamingo exhibit, let's either flap our arms like we're flamingos or stand on one foot and see how long we can last. And let's recap what we learned today. First, a zoo is a special place where people can meet animals, learn about them, and help protect them. We also learned some important science words. An endangered species is a plant or animal with very few left in the world.

22:26SPEAKER_00:Husbandry means the daily care that animals need, like food, water, clean habitats, and making sure things like heat lamps work. Rehabilitation means helping injured or sick animals so that they can return to the wild. And a breeding program is when experts help animals have babies to protect the species. And finally, we learned that a zoo is like a small city with lots of different jobs. Jobs like animal care specialists, veterinarians, vet techs, nutritionists, and conservation scientists.

22:58SPEAKER_00:And each job can have a different education path. Some jobs need a certificate, some need a two or a four-year degree, and some need many years of school, like veterinarians and researchers. But no matter what job you choose, being curious, loving animals, and learning about nature are a great place to start. Hey Andreyu, real quick, if kids or families want to learn more about animals and jobs with animals, what can they do now?

23:29SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's a great question. So there's uh so many other things that we can do to learn about animals. For example, as you say, here listening to different kinds of podcasts like Orbits, but also just for example, coming to your local Sioux, like for example, here San Antonio Sioux is a perfect way for you to learn and see different kinds of animals. Uh, you can also read books about animals or nature. If you are old enough, you can also volunteer at animal shelter, wildlife rescue places.

23:53SPEAKER_01:You can learn also just at home by taking care of your pets and making sure that they are doing amazing in your house and also just by watching and protecting the wildlife that live in your backyard or around your house.

24:05SPEAKER_00:Hank totally agrees that taking really good care of your pets is a great way to start. Woo! Thanks so much for visiting Orbit and answering our questions, Andreou.

24:13SPEAKER_01:Okay, thank you so much, Orbiters, for listening to me here in the podcast. I appreciate it. Have a lot of fun. Uh and yes, I will just say enjoy it, have fun with animals, learn about animals, and if you get a chance, visit your local zoo so you can even learn more about animals.

24:31SPEAKER_00:Hey parrots! Our guest today was Andreou Papadakis, coordinator of animal programs at the San Antonio Zoo. You can connect with the San Antonio Zoo by following them on social media or visiting their website www.sazoo.org. Hey, before we wrap up, I bet a few of you are curious about the mystery sound. Do you remember it? There were three options. Is it a cheetah, an ostrich, or a crocodile? If you said it's a cheetah, you were right. One more special thanks to our friends at Level Up Texas and the Texas AM Office for Youth Engagement for making possible this episode series about STEM careers.

25:28SPEAKER_00:You can follow Level Up Texas on social media at LevelUp underscore Texas. We'll add the link in the show notes. Orbit is produced by Cumbray Kids. This episode was written by me, Robert Carpenter. The producer is Catherine Aguilar. Artwork for the episode by Moises Monsale and Jorge Wake. And don't forget to check out this episode in Spanish on Cranio. Ciencia para niños curiosos. We'll see you in the next episode. Ciao!

25:57SPEAKER_10:The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein. The end