There’s a general rule in job seeking that says, ideally you should pursue a career in a field that you are passionate about. For example, if you love to cook, then consider a job as a chef. If you like to help people, pursue a career in nursing. And, if you love animals, a job as a veterinarian or zookeeper may be just what you are looking for. Taking that theory a step further–if you love animals and are looking for a new job, you may want to consider life as a primate nursery keeper.
Consider how Barb Jones spends her days: The primate nursery keeper at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium crawls through piles of straw with a 15-pound baby gorilla on her back, sometimes climbing up on platforms inside the cage. It’s all part of being a surrogate mother to baby gorillas… and part of the job that Jones has held for more than 25 years.
Jones’ job as a primate nursery keeper entails breaking the cycle of primates born in captivity who never learn how to care for their offspring (which explains the crawling she does). She also teaches young gorillas how to be babies while adult gorillas watch and learn their own roles. Jones’ hope is that the baby gorillas will grow up to be better caregivers that can look after their own offspring.
At first glance it would seem Jones was made for this role, but in fact, the primate nursery keeper will be the first to admit that she had no experience as a primate nursery keeper prior to taking the job. Jones was a teacher who happened to do volunteer work at the zoo. Her willingness to learn and obvious love for the animals segued into the job she maintains today. Jones says in her 26 years as a primate nursery keeper, she’s never been injured. What’s more, she says she’s also picked up a few tricks, such as coughing when the babies misbehave, because that’s what adult gorillas do.
Jones wasn’t working at the Columbus Zoo when the world’s first gorilla born in captivity made its debut there in 1956. Back then, baby gorillas were removed from their mothers and reared in nurseries because zookeepers thought they were protecting the babies by doing so. Now the human caregivers know better. They have learned that gorillas need to learn from one another. The role Jones plays as a primate nursery keeper helps decrease the time it takes for an infant gorilla to become part of a pack. It’s a job that Jones says leaves her fulfilled, and moreover, she says looks forward to going to work everyday.
Would you consider being a primate nursery keeper?