Molly Flora - Zoo Keeper
Melbourne Zoo
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Which animals do you work with?
I started working with the Melbourne Zoo elephants in 2005. In August, I was seconded from the elephant department to help create a new animal encounter program. In this new program, I work with many animals including reptiles, birds, and mammals.
How did you get in to Zookeeping as a profession?
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in the US, I did an internship at a zoo in Texas. From there, I got my first job at a very small zoo called Wildlife Safari in Oregon. After a couple of years I moved up to a larger city zoo in Portland. In 2005, my husband and I moved to Thailand to start working with the new elephants destined for Melbourne Zoo, while they were still in quarantine in Thailand.
What's the best thing about your job?
There are many wonderful things about my job. Working and creating relationships with the animals would definitely be high on the list. Training the animals opens up a line of communication between you and them. It gives me the chance to get to know all about their individual personalities.
This job also allows me to have a forum to show our guests just how wonderful and amazing these animals really are.
What has been the wildest moment of your career so far?
My wildest moment so far has been discovering that our elephant, Dokkoon, is pregnant via the first artificial insemination of an elephant in Australia. It took so much time and effort from every person on our team to get to this point. I felt so fortunate to be involved in the process.