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Five Minutes With Gina Rivera, animal care specialist, Lowry Park Zoo

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 21, 2007

TAMPA - Gina Rivera, 28, came to Lowry Park Zoo in 2005 after working in Chicago as a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo and an intern at Shedd Aquarium. Rivera, a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, loves nothing more than helping animals, especially birds.

Q. What do you enjoy most about working with animals?

A. I know I am making a positive difference in the world. I have an opportunity to teach something very special to people who visit Lowry Park Zoo, to engage guests and inform them about the birds I care for, teaching them about where the birds come from or what they eat, but also about the issues they face and how we affect these animals and their livelihood.

Q. Have you formed a bond with some of the animals you care for?

A. It is very hard not to form bonds with the animals. The African penguins have definitely stolen my heart. Other than the penguins at our zoo, the macaws are a species that you really have to work with and form a bond with in order to work successfully with them. Biko, a male scarlet macaw, has finally let me interact with him and hold him on my hand and arm. It took two years to get to this point, and it's become possible because we have formed a bond with one another, and he now trusts me.

Q. Because these are all wild animals, what precautions must you take with them?

A. There is a lot more to this job than just cleaning up poop and feeding animals. We have to be able to read an animal's behavior and understand a behavior in order to properly care for them. We definitely have some aggressive birds in our collection. This entails taking extra precautions to ensure not only our safety but the safety of the animal as well.

Q. The zoo is a thriving community of animals. What lessons can we learn from it?

A. One thing we can learn is that it's possible for man and animal to thrive together in this world. The zoo's mission is to connect people with the living Earth, and I truly believe we have done this, and continue to do so, by engaging our guests to aspire to a better life for us all.

Q. Has working with animals taught you something special about yourself?

A. I think this is the hardest question I have been asked. I have definitely learned that I am a very passionate person, very goal-oriented and a dedicated hard worker. I guess you have to be in order to be in this field. You don't take a job like this for the pay but for the satisfaction of knowing you are making a very big difference overall.

Kurt Loft

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