Animal Diaries Archive

Mammals Jenna

27 July 2007

My name is Jenna and I started in the Mammals Department about one month ago. I was born in Melbourne in 1987, but I consider myself a 100% Queenslander. The warm weather up here suits me just fine. Ever since I was young, it has always been my passion to work with animals when I was older. I started off as a volunteer here at Australia Zoo, and after a lot of hard work, dedication and lots of fun, I was offered a position as a Mammals Keeper.

Some of the Mammals that I work with here at the zoo range from our gorgeous Southern Hairy Nose and Common Wombats, Spiky Echidnas, Playful Platypus, a wide variety of stunning Red and Grey Kangaroos and Wallaby's, and of course our very energetic and cheeky Asian Small Clawed Otters.

I love all our animals here at the zoo, but an absolute passion of mine would have to be our Asian Small Clawed Otters, Bonnie and Maria. Our cheeky little otters came to us from Auckland Zoo in 1999, and absolutely love it here at Australia Zoo. I am currently learning about and studying our otters, and will soon be presenting the Asian Small Clawed Otter Demonstrations that run through out the day. Learning and educating the public on these beautiful creatures has always been a dream of mine, and I am extremely excited to begin my demonstrations with our two beautiful girls.

Asian Small Clawed Otters are found primarily in SE Asia and inhabit rivers, streams, rice patties and coastal mangroves. Otters form extremely strong family bonds, and our two girls Bonnie and Maria do absolutely everything together. They hunt, feed, sleep and even go to the toilet together.

So next time your at Australia Zoo or even if you're a first timer, make a note to drop by Bonnie and Maria's enclosure to say hi! They absolutely love to show off, and you might even see me there doing one of my first Otter Demonstrations.

Hope to see you all soon!