 FEBRUARY KEEPER OF THE MONTH Tom Lawrence is keeper of the big cats here at the Welsh Mountain Zoo and has worked at the Zoo for 8 years. Tom enjoys working with our big cats, which include our two Snow Leopards and our two Sumatran Tigers. An important aspect of all our keepers jobs are to ensure that our animals are enriched and stimulated. To enrich our Snow Leopards, Tom placed herbs such as Basil and Thyme around the enclousure. He also rubbed ginger on the rocks and logs. Tom was in the enclousure for 15 minutes while Otilia and Szechuan were kept in the bedding area for safety reasons. When Tom was outside the enclousure, Otilia and Szechuan went to investigate. The male, Szechuan sniffed the areas, while the female Otilia enjoyed rolling around in the herbs. It is important that the keepers undertake enrichment activities to ensure their animals are healthy, active and that they exhibit a wide diversity of behaviours. Enrichment is as important as feeding and cleaning, as they are stimulated to investigate and interact with their surroundings.
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 DID YOU KNOW? Snow Leopards do not roar. |
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