Jenny Moffitt
What animals do you work with?
I have worked in the Maintenance Department, Bird Department, Mammal Department: Ungulates, Central Primate Facility and Native Mammals
How long have you been working as a zookeeper/vet/vet nurse?
I have been working as a keeper for 14 years
How did you get into zookeeping/vet/vet nursing as a profession?
When I first came into the zoo in my mid 20s, I saw women working in the yards and thought what an excellent place to be! I eventually saw someone I knew and secured a casual position. Many years on I applied for an internal position as trainee keeper.
What do you love most about your job
Being alongside motivated team members and like minded people, being thrown into unusual situations where a day is never the same, making constant decisions based on my experiences and animals behaviour as well as the contact I have with so many fantastic beautiful animals. I also love working outside in a physical capacity and the involvement in conservation projects and meeting so many dedicated ,hard working people. Having a great laugh at some of the extraordinary day to day events that take place. Love a good uniform!
What has been the wildest moment of your career so far?
Being passionately involved with the Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby Recovery program and assisting cross fostering to release them to the wild. It all still blows me away, mostly because I am able to follow the progress of many 2 week old joeys and monitor many until release which may be many months later sometimes with yet another joey in pouch
How has the program gone since filming? What has happened to the Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby?
The Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby recovery team released 11 wallabies in The Grampians last November. We will be supplementing the numbers this year and the following, releasing possibly 5 wallabies each time. Presently we are in the process of moving some captive breeding animals around the participating institutions for further breeding. We have had one birth in captivity this year to date.
The cross fostered Joey on The Zoo, named Archie, is still at Adelaide Zoo but will move to the Waite Institute where he will join other cross-fostered wallabies and in time become the most important breeding male in the programme.
