DCCC's Zoo and Aquarium Science Students Get Hands-On Experience with Wild and Domestic Animals

By Myra Thompson
Davidson County Community College

January 10, 2012

Davidson County Community College Zoo and Aquarium Science student Matthew Thompson says he looks forward to starting his spring semester cooperative learning experience this week  at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, and he hopes it will be as exciting as his “once-in-a-lifetime moment” that occurred last July when he witnessed the delivery of a baby giraffe at the Virginia Zoo.

During Thompson’s two-month summer internship at the zoo in Norfolk, he watched a six-foot tall newborn giraffe draw its first breath and take its first step. Immediately, he said he knew he had chosen his dream-job course of study. DCCC students learning to be professional zookeepers regularly enjoy hands-on experiences with animals during their five semesters of study, but Thompson said he feels extremely lucky to have witnessed the birth of the 150-pound giraffe. Watching the baby emerge from its mother, fall six feet to the ground, and get up to start walking less than 10 hours later was something he says he will never forget.

“We were on our way back from lunch when they paged us on the radio that the mother was going to deliver,” Thompson recalled. “When it finally happened I was breathless and in awe.”
Thompson, a 2012 DCCC graduation candidate who moved to Lexington from Chapel Hill to enroll in DCCC’s Zoo and Aquarium Science program, described the experience as amazing and inspiring. He says he hopes to work with either giraffes or elephants after he graduates in May and lands a job.

“It was an amazing experience to watch as they rushed the mother giraffe inside from the exhibit area to a holding area when her water broke. By the time we got her inside, the baby’s foot was already partially out.” Thompson was nearing the completion of his two-month summer internship at the Virginia Zoo when he helped deliver the giraffe. He enjoyed working with zookeepers there learning the husbandry of feeding the animals, as well as cleaning and maintaining their exhibits. He worked with tigers, elephants, black bears, reptiles, birds, barnyard animals and his favorites, the giraffes.

“After the birth, I enjoyed spending several days helping take care of the newborn. Sadly, he died three weeks later due to a problem with his spleen,” he said. Thompson’s internship was over when he learned of the baby’s death, but he said it still affected him greatly. “We walk into the job knowing we are going to get attached to the animals, but I didn’t realize just how attached I would get. I felt like I had known him for years but really it was only for days.”

Thompson and his fellow students practice handling and training domesticated animals during their two years of DCCC study so they can perform similar training on exotic animals.  Recently, his class practiced clicker-training, operant conditioning and positive reinforcement using horses at a Davidson County farm.

Students broke into small groups to teach four horses to perform complex movements and responses. “The students were able to accomplish a lot in this hour,” said Dr. Julie Grimes, a zoo science instructor at DCCC. She helped the students through an operant conditioning session using horses instead of exotic animals so the students could practice their skills. “They often can’t get this kind of hands-on training experience at a zoo,” said Grimes, as her students taught their horses to come to a target, turn in a circle and line up along a fence line.

Using principles they previously earned in class, students practiced their problem-solving skills during the training session. The students gained valuable experience, said Grimes.
“Training sessions very rarely go how you expect them to, and being able to read your animal and make adjustments as necessary is crucial to being a good trainer,” she explained.

Grimes, who is also a behavior management consultant for the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, specializes in training animals to “voluntarily participate in their own care.” At the North Carolina Zoo, she helps train elephants, primates, birds and antelopes, among others.

The Zoo and Aquarium Science program began at DCCC in 2007. It combines classroom instruction with extensive hands-on experiences at area zoo facilities over five semesters. Some graduates transfer to other colleges and universities to earn four-year degrees in biology, zoology, and animal behavior, with others going straight to work at zoological parks, nature science centers, wild animal safari parks, and university research facilities.

During their summer co-operative learning experiences and their hands-on learning during the fall and winter semesters, zoo science students gain valuable experience working with a wide variety of exotic animals. First-year students complete hands-on learning experiences at Animal Discovery in Greensboro with second-year students training at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro.

In addition, students are required to complete a summer co-operative experience of 320 hours at one of DCCC’s other animal partner facilities. DCCC is one of seven community colleges in the United States to offer a two-year degree to prepare graduates for a career as a professional zookeeper. DCCC accepts a maximum of 24 students each fall semester through a selective admissions process. The program leads to a two-year, Associate in Applied Science degree.

Prospective students should pick up an admissions packet from the DCCC Admissions office located upstairs in Mendenhall Building on the Davidson Campus and return the completed documents by noon on Friday, Jan. 27. Students must also schedule an eligibility review with their enrollment counselor prior to Jan. 27 in order to be considered for classes beginning August 15th, 2012.

Zoo and Aquarium Science Scholarships are available to second-year students with academic promise and financial needs through a National Science Foundation grant. Students wishing to apply for a scholarship must first complete the FAFSA form. For more information, contact Jill Simpson at jbsimpso@davidsonccc.edu or 336.249.8186, ext. 6231, or Mark Stevens at mesteven@davidsonccc.edu or 336.249.8186, ext. 6737.

Dr. Julie Grimes, (standing behind horse) recently guided her DCCC Zoo and Aquarium students through an hour of operant conditioning and clicker training using four horses at a Davidson County farm. Students practiced techniques working with a Thoroughbred gelding, an Arabian gelding, a Quarter Horse mare and an American Saddlebred mare. From left are students Holly Price, Katherine Goodell, Matthew Thompson, Carol Burns (kneeling), Kate Garcia, Dana Strickland, Jessica Culbertson (kneeling), Courtney Brandys, Louann Adair and Courtney Anderson.