Curator starts work with LR zoo’s hoofed stock, birds

BY L. LAMOR WILLIAMS

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008

URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/234610/

The elephants almost seemed to be eavesdropping.

They’d seen Little Rock Zoo’s new curator for hoof stock and birds, Joseph Darcangelo, passing their enclosure. He was explaining renovations of the elephant house, expected to double in size by spring 2009.

As if they knew he was talking about them and their home — the renovation also includes a new pool, kitchen and corral area to keep the elephants from moving around during examinations — the two female Asian elephants, named Ellen and Mary, moved to the farthest corner of their yard, as close to Darcangelo as they could get.

They watched him intently.

“I’m someone new in their life right now,” Darcangelo said. “Whenever I walk by, they’re checking me out. They’re very intelligent. They pay very, very close attention to me.”

Darcangelo said he visits all the animals under his care daily, starting his rounds between 7 and 8 a. m.

Besides the birds and elephants, he oversees rhinos, giraffes, kudu, black buck, and other hoofed animals.

He arrived at the zoo with 12 years of experience, having worked at such other zoos as the Miami Metro Zoo, Chehaw Wild Animal Park in Georgia, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge. All are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, according to Little Rock Zoo officials.

Originally from New Jersey, Darcangelo, 34, lives in Alexander with his wife, Amy, and their dog, Jayda. He has a degree in zoo animal technology from the Santa Fe, N. M., Teaching Zoo and a bachelor of arts in environmental writing from Unity College in Unity, Maine.

It took nearly a year to find and hire a qualified candidate to replace Bill Baker, who left to become the director of the Abilene Zoo in Texas, zoo Director Michael Blakely said.

“We are just so pleased to have him here,” Blakely said. “He’s a really qualified individual. He’s been here just a few weeks and has already been a real good contribution to the zoo.”

Susan Altrui, zoo spokesman, said hiring qualified employees is especially important for zoos. Altrui said the salary range for the position is between $ 31, 022 and $ 39, 359.

“They also have to have a special knowledge of how to handle the animals, like the elephants and rhinos, for example. When mistakes are made, it puts the employees in danger. People can be hurt,” she said. “We take great care in hiring for that reason.”

Leaving the elephant enclosure, Darcangelo heads for the giraffe barn, where the two males — Mesi (pronounced Macy ) and Jigsaw — are strolling around their yard outside. One of Darcangelo’s duties is training the animals and providing enrichment exercises to keep them active and challenged mentally.

In the training, the animals learn to come when called, go to specific areas on cue and perform tasks that make veterinary examinations easier and more thorough.

After feeding the giraffes a few handfuls of grain pellets to demonstrate how they use their long prehensile tongues, Darcangelo goes back into the barn and shares his plans for creating a “tongue puzzle” for the animals.

The puzzle is a piece of PVC pipe 6 inches in diameter, with ledges inside. Food is put in from the top and the giraffes must use their tongues to navigate the cylindrical maze and get the food to fall to the bottom.

“In the wild they would use their tongues to avoid the thorns on the acacia trees and pick off the shoots,” he said. “This would simulate how they’d eat in their natural habitat.”

With a goodbye to the giraffes, it’s off to the lorikeet aviary. There zoo patrons can use small cups of nectar to coax the birds close. Sometimes, if a visitor has steady hands and patience, the birds even perch will perch on that visitor’s hands, arms or shoulders and, in the case of Darcangelo, on top of his head.

A falconer and handler at mixed-species exhibits, Darcangelo is as comfortable and confident with the tiny colorful birds as he is with the giants Ellen and Mary.

As he talks, the bird begins to preen Darcangelo, using its beak to comb through his hair for insects as it would in the wild for itself or other members of its flock.