ACCRA ZOO: WORKING UNDER DIFFICULT CONDITIONS AS A ZOOKEEPER


Zoos have been part of our human history from the very beginning when early humans began documenting what happened to them.

If you have a love of animals, you might have been thinking about becoming a zookeeper. Zookeepers play multiple roles in caring for animals; they’re the parent, doctor, teacher, dietician, and fitness instructor, and they’re responsible for ensuring zoo animals are healthy and happy.

Zookeepers perform a variety of tasks throughout the day, and these can vary depending on the area of the zoo or type of animals they interact with.


PHOTO CREDIT: Graphic Online 


The benefit of having a local zoo is that it gives people an opportunity to learn more about the animals and nature.

It is a way to engage children in science, bring families together, and help save certain animal species that are close to extinction.

Amidst a possible lockdown in Ghana over the fear of the deadly novel Coronavirus, I visited the almost forgotten and dejected Accra Zoo inside the Achimota forest which seem to be lost in the public eye but over there work business goes on as usual.

Dejected signboard inside Achimota forest leading to the Zoo.

PHOTO CREDIT: By Jetsanza.com


Zookeepers were still at post attending to visitors. Upon my interaction with one of the Zookeepers, Mr. Theo Klevor highlighted some underlying difficulties they face in the forest but says there's always joy in teaching people what is like to live with animals.

Zookeeper Klevor attending to visitors.

PHOTO CREDIT: By Tarma T.

The public awareness about the presence of the zoo in the Achimota Forest is still minimal. The old Accra Zoo was considered one of the most patronised tourist sites in the country but we can't say same for now.

Monkeys playing with visitors

PHOTO CREDIT: By Crown Prince Academy


According to Franklin Adjei, there is the need to pay much attention to eco-tourism since it can fetch the country a lot of revenues for socio-economic development.

The Zoo house hundreds of thousands of captive animals that rely on people for their food and care and that means people like Franklin Adjei will continue to report for duty each day.

Lonely camels in their cage

PHOTO CREDIT: By BusinessdayGhana

"We are in difficult times now but as tough as it can get, part of the zookeeper’s daily routine include observing animals to check for any health or behavioural issues. For example, an animal might be refusing food, moving sluggishly, or acting aggressively towards others in the enclosure. These will be noted in a logbook and the zookeeper will report the information to the section curator or speak with the vet, and then a decision can be made about what to do to help the animal."


Every October 4th under the calendar year is observed as International Zoo Keeper Day throughout the world. Zookeepers at the Achimota Zoo are not left out in times like this.

It is an important time of the year to remind the zoo keepers of the importance of their work, especially in a country like Ghana where the keepers are not as celebrated as in other European countries. It is imperative for Zookeepers to continue to admire theirs roles in the lives of the zoo animals. 


Below is the link to my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/DavidKofiTei/




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE(ACCRA ZOO)

Image
Beauty and love for creation were given for free,so I the touch of the earth. A Zoo is a place reserved for seeing such beautiful and wonderful creation of God. Zoos are beautiful animal kingdom.There are so many tourist sites in the world but Zoos are one of the most interesting site,it gives one the most chance to see how animals live their lives and how they go about their day to day activities. Many may see visiting the zoo as a waste of time but others may have internet seeing and siting how animals have their way of doing things and helps them relieve stress as they site these beautiful creations. The Accra zoo which is located in Achimota has been in existence for over 12years and many people both in Ghana and from far come to have a relive just by watching these animals and the interesting activities they carry daily. The Accra zoo in the heart of Achimota is blessed with beautiful vegetation and a jungle where tourist can tour around and enjoy themselves freely. ...
Read more

CHALLENGES OF KUMASI ZOO

Kumasi zoo was a beautiful tourist site with interesting activities to entertain visitors. Kumasi zoo was established in the year 1957 by Asanteman council. The zoo is located at the center of the city for easy access. Mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animals can be found at the zoo. The beautiful interesting zoo has turned into a boring one facing lots of challenges. The route leading to the animal cages is in bad shape especially when it rains, the place becomes muddy and slippery. It can make visitors fall or cause harm to them. The cages of some animals are filled with bushes and sometimes visitors can’t see the animals. Due to lack of repairs of pipe line, some aquatic animals live in muddy waters. Some of the cage for the animals are rusted and weak. Animals are given one meal per a day instead of three meals per a day. Due to that, some animals have grown lean and unattractive. Officials of the zoo said strong smell from liquid waste from Komfo Anokye Hospital mo...
Read more

ACCRA ZOO: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CROCODILES

Image
There are many types of zoos in ghana which is the  Accra zoo and the kumasi zoo. I decided to emphasize on the Accra zoo which is normally called the Accra zooligical gardens. The Accra zoological gardens is located at the Achimota Accra  and is one of the most popular, interesting and attractions centre to visit in ghana.             To come to the most important thing to find in the Accra zoo is there are a lot of very beautiful species found in there and some of them are; Lion, duck, monkey, crocodile and even donkeys etc. The one I tried to emphasize on was the crocodile in the Accra zoo. Crocodile they say are semi aquatic reptiles that leaves in the tropic of Africa, Asia, Americas and even the Australia and are classified as the biological sub- family and are carnivores who eats on  fresh meat and sometimes feast on fish, birds, crabs, snakes and even on humans etc. Mostly in the Ghanaians z6oo there are different kinds ...
Read more