By Katie Strachan
The Oshawa Express

Dancing with parrots, sheering sheep, kisses from a llama and caring for an ill albino wallaby.
It’s all in a day’s work for Karen Connell, the zookeeper and owner of the Oshawa Zoo. “It’s indeed a great job,” says Connell, adding that multi-tasking is key to her success. In a typical day at the zoo, which is seven days a week for Connell, she enlists the help of her brother Allan, assistant zookeeper Jeremy and some very dedicated volunteers.“Nobody ever leaves,” she says of employees at the zoo.“Normally in the morning we’ll check on the animals in the barn, feed and water them and medicate Powder,” she says. Powder is Connell’s pride and joy. She is a three-year-old albino wallaby that is fighting off a stubborn infection.“We all need to make sure that they have hay and fresh water,” she adds. The brand new chicks are moved into their pens out front so the younger children can spot them easily. About two dozen of them run around ‘chirping’ when Connell walks by.

In fact many of the animals respond to Connell’s call. “I’m a very popular woman here in the morning,” she jokes. A quick walk around the zoo reveals that the animals do in fact know Connell’s voice.“The Macaws really like music,” she jokes.“Jesse prefers country and western, but Toby loves ‘All that Jazz’ from Chicago.” As she sings the tune, the colourful bird dances and hums along with her. Norah and Zephyr, donkeys, are notorious for chewing on t-shirts, explains Connell. She says each of the 175 animals has its’ own unique personality. Just developing his or her own personality is one of the newest additions to the zoo, a ring-tailed lemur born in May.

“We haven’t named it yet because I don’t want to call it Harry if it’s a girl,” explains Connell, adding the zoo’s animals are named in alphabetical order. Last year’s baby was an ‘F.’ Bottle feedings are the next major thing on Connell’s agenda. Conveniently she can use the laundry room of her home to mix the bottles. Just as a mother would, Connell mixes the powdered formula with warm water in twolitre Pepsi bottles for her babies, all properly labeled so she knows who gets what. Organization is another important aspect for the zookeeper, she explains transferring a load of household laundry over while waiting for the bottles to warm.

Bottle feedings take place at the zoo at 11 a.m and 3 p.m. The baby calves, llamas and a camel are fed mostly by kids who are visiting the zoo.

“The kids love it and the parents love it because they don’t have to worry about them getting into too much,” she says. The interactive zoo allows kids to touch a large portion of the animals, many unique to Oshawa like the Maras, the South American version of the jackrabbit.“The camel is fed about four times a day,” she says, adding the llamas can be weaned off the bottle in the coming weeks.

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