Joy stands in front of the Patas Monkey exhibit at the Houston Zoo.
Hometown: Houston, TX Section: Primates Quote: The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible. –Oscar Wilde Special interests/Hobbies: Outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking, reading historical fiction, learning foreign languages Favorite animal: It tends to be whatever animal I’m working with at the time, however, I have a special fondness for Patas monkeys – I love their athleticism, reticent nature and social dynamics. I currently train the Patas monkeys. Interesting Facts: I graduated as a dance major from Houston’s High School for the Performing & Visual Arts
What made you want to be a zookeeper? While working as a park ranger on Alcatraz Island I had the opportunity to observe up-close the entire life cycle of western gulls and found it fascinating. I wanted to learn more about animals and animal related careers, so I applied for an internship at the Houston Zoo. I have been working here for 4 years.
What is your education, training, and previous institution(s) you attended before coming to the Houston Zoo? I have a BA in Music from the University of Houston. I worked internships with the Primate and Hoofstock departments here at the Houston Zoo. Previously, I worked as a mule driver on a re-created 1870s canal boat.
What sort of advice would you give to anyone wanting to enter the zoo field? Volunteer first to see if you like it – it’s more hard work than you might expect.
What is your favorite animal story? Everyday while I’m working with animals something cute, funny, sweet or interesting happens. Probably the most inspiring moments, though, are the ones where I get to observe animals in the wild, such as coming face to face with California gray whales in Baja Mexico, hearing elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park and standing underneath a capuchin troop in Costa Rica.
It is easy to see that this office belongs to a primate keeper! Judy is surrounded by orangutan paintings in her office.
Hometown: Tacoma, WA Section: Primates- Chimpanzee Supervisor Quote: “Never believe anything you read.” Special Interests/ Hobbies: Horseback riding and reading. Interesting Facts: I’ve know nearly 200 chimps during my career and lived in 6 different states in 4 different time zones.
What made you want to become a zookeeper? I spent summers with my aunt, uncle and cousins, and they took us to the Sealife park in Galveston when I was 13 years old. I used to want to be a dolphin trainer, but then I saw my first chimp and it was all over.
What is your education, training, and previous institution(s) you attended before coming to the Houston Zoo?
I started volunteering at the Santa Barbara Zoo in 1988. I attended Moorpark College for Exotic Animal Training and Management, graduating in 1991. I have worked at the Primate Foundation of Arizona and the Riverside Zoo in Nebraska caring for chimpanzees. I also worked at Disney with primates and elephants, and in Bastrop, Texas at MD Anderson caring for their chimpanzees. I have been here at the Houston Zoo since this April.
What sort of advice would you give to anyone wanting to enter the zoo field?
Be prepared to do anything. Volunteer and be patient. Don’t expect to get your dream job right away. You might have to work with animals that aren’t on the top of your list before you can work with animals that are your first choice.
What is your favorite animal story? My favorite chimp I ever worked with was named Pani. Pani was 36 years old and had never had a baby of her own, although she had been an “auntie” a few times and really liked babies and young chimps. Riverside Zoo (where I was working at the time) took in an orphaned infant chimp from Sedgewick County Zoo named Imara. We introduced Imara to Pani and Pani was unbelievably patient and kind and soon won over Imara (he had been scared of her at first) and she became his mother for the next 6 years.
Our infant sifaka was named Kelyfamata (which means “small but mighty”) because he was just 85 grams at birth, but very vigorous and healthy. Once he was able to locomote on his own, the keepers built him a special jungle gym that was sized specially for his petite dimensions, and that is what you see him jumping on in this video. He has almost outgrown it, but still enjoys leaping around on it in entertaining bouts of play.
