SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ) – Following a tragedy in North Carolina a local zoo is saying that safety is paramount for them.
The Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo in Suamico is home to some very large animals.
After an intern at a conservative center in North Carolina was killed by a lion, Carmen Murach, Curator of Animals at the NEW Zoo, says it’s a reminder that they have a dangerous job.
“I cringe when I hear anyone say that a particular animal would never hurt them,” says Murach. “You just can not know that.”
Twenty-two-year-old Alexandra Black was killed on Sunday after cleaning an enclosure at the Conservators Center in Burlington, North Carolina.
Murach says routine work, such as cleaning an area, can become dangerous if the staffer lets their guard down and allows complacency to creep in.
“[Even if] you’ve been doing this for twenty years and nothing has ever gone wrong, you can not assume that it never will go wrong,” she says.
Black had worked at the Conservators Center for ten days before Sunday’s incident.
To have an inexperienced staff member in close proximity to such a dangerous animal is unusual and not practice that would take place at the NEW Zoo, according to Murach.
“For instance, an intern here would never have that option,” she explains.
For anybody to be put in a position where they would interact with a large and dangerous animal, such as a lion, they need to meet certain requirements.
“Our policy does specify experience level and additional training,” says Murach.
And whether it’s a twenty-something intern or a zoo veteran with decades of knowledge and experience, the risks will always be there.
“Zookeepers have very good relationships with the animals they care for, but [lions] are a very large cat,” she explains. “And I would certainly remain very cautious about ever putting myself in a situation where I was too close to the caging or certainly in a space with a large cat like that.”
In regards to keeping visitors and the general public safe from animals, they make sure to check all the boxes and then some.
“We are an AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited zoo,” explains Murach. “They have a whole other level of safety and animal welfare priorities that they have requirements for, beyond what the USDA regulating agency has.”
