Hands-on fun for Amy

A Manchester schoolgirl, who dreams of becoming a Zoo Keeper, had a real hands-on experience when she joined staff at DZG for the day.

Amy Elson was treated to a Be a Zoo Keeper package by her parents, to give her a taste of what to expect in her chosen career and DZG was chosen because of the wide variety of animals Amy was able to come into contact with.

Amy, said: “My favourite part of the day was being with the lemurs. I was amazed how close they came to me and how soft they were.

“I also really enjoyed feeding the penguins and thought they were so funny the way they all raced over to the bucket of fish.

“Benji was also a firm favourite, as I gave him drinks of juice and stroked his hand.”

During the day Amy helped keepers feed their animal charges as well as taking part in the not so glamorous aspect of zoo keeping – mucking out!

But the experience didn’t put off Amy, who has decided a career in zoo keeping is definitely the way to go.

Amy’s mum, Debra, added: “Amy enjoyed every aspect of the experience and would love to visit again. All the staff were so friendly and made the whole day a really enjoyable experience and she has decided this is definitely what she wants to do when she leaves school.”