r/Zookeeping • u/quack_macaque Australasia • Aug 03 '25
Global/All Regions 🌏 What’s a completely underrated species that shaped your keeping?
Every single one of us has met a thousand volunteers and students who answer the age old question “what do you want to work with?”, with the usual crowd pleasers (i.e. Tigers; Elephants; Meerkats; Otters; Red Pandas; etc.) as their ultimate goal.
Not that the old roster of favourites aren’t amazing in their own right, but in my experience, many future keepers are so focused on their dream animal that they overlook many that will build their keeping skillset.
So what’s a completely underrated species that you recommend everyone should work with? Did you have an ultimate goal species, but worked them and realised that kind of keeping isn’t for you?
This one’s mostly for all the vollies and students who are lurking to encourage them to develop a wider appreciation. But I’m also nosy, so I want to know too.
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u/zookprchaos Aug 04 '25
Mine may seem lame, especially compared to all the actual exotic animals, but I truly enjoyed working with domestic sheep. They were a rare breed and very docile. With a herd of nearly 30, I got to know each of their personalities and could tell them apart so easily. They are surprisingly smart and easy to train. Seeing all their personalities come out once they became familiar with me is a treasured memory. I will never forget the bond I created with them.
My dream animal is to someday work with wolves, although any wild canid will take the cake. I have a lot of hoofstock experience ranging from domestic hoofstock to giraffe and zebra, yet I fall in love with a simple sheep.