Crocs and Meercats and Otters, Oh My!

Haley Cohen Photos and Factbox Included

The boy is covered in meerkats. The furry critters sniff in his t-shirt sleeves, claw at his cargo pockets, and burrow in between his legs. They clamber up his arms and onto his head, rifling through his hair hoping to find a mealworm they might have missed.

Many people would be horrified to get frisked by a mob of hungry meerkats but 16-year old John Goodman actually paid for the experience as part of Mogo Zoo’s “Keeper for a Day” program.

Located in the historic gold mining village of Mogo, about 10 km south of Bateman’s Bay and 200 km south of Sydney, Mogo Zoo is a small privately owned zoo focused on preserving endangered and exotic species. It is also the only zoo in Australia other than the National Zoo in Canberra to possess white lions. Mogo Zoo recently attracted attention when an escaped white lioness had to be shot, but has since bounced back and continues to be a fantastic place to see snow leopards, cotton-top tamarins, red pandas, and other rare species.

For $550, Mogo Zoo allows animal-lovers 16 and older to interact and care for these animals, doing exactly as the real keepers do.

“We don’t sugarcoat the experience,” says official Mogo Zookeeper Lisa Payne. “Day keepers are expected to pick up poop just like the rest of us. Of course we’ll never force poo on anyone, but the Keeper for a Day program is not just a glorified petting-fest.”

A day deeper feeding some of Mogo's resident giraffes

As operation feces suggests, the Keeper for a Day experience is anything but sanitized and the itinerary reflects an experience that is raw and authentic and just a tad dangerous.

While for safety reasons, “day keepers” are not allowed in the pens of Mogo’s more threatening animals, they are allowed much closer than a normal zoo patron. Often, the day keepers can even feed the white lions and crocodiles an afternoon snack of raw chicken necks through their chain link enclosures.

Tamer tasks include cleaning and feeding the meerkats and red pandas, accompanying the official keepers while they give public talks about the Bengal tigers, sea otters and meercats and preparing treats for the primates. Day keepers also get to pet and feed servals, a rare breed of small African cat, and raking out the straw in the animals’ pens to ready them for sleep.

“As an added bonus you get to play marbles as you rake,” jokes Payne.

Hopefully after washing their hands, the day keepers are also treated to morning tea and lunch with the official keepers – a rare opportunity to ask experienced professionals questions about the animals and life as a keeper.

Despite the authenticity of the program, Payne reports that no one has ever been physically injured while fulfilling their duties as day keeper.

“While we strive to make the experience as genuine as possible, we also ensure that everything the day keepers are involved in is perfectly safe. But we get some emotional pain, which we can’t really prevent. The other day we had a grown man crying because he didn’t want to leave when his shift as day keeper was over.”

Sally Padey, Mogo's owner gets up cuddly with a white lion

This anecdote is amusing but also stands as a testament to how extraordinary the Keeper for a Day experience really is. Other Zoos such as Taronga in Sydney and the National Zoo in Canberra offer similar programs, but Mogo’s small size and extensive collection of endangered species allows for an especially intimate experience.

“Whereas the bigger city Zoos might offer similar programs, they are much less personal. We rarely have more than one day keeper per day and we let the keepers do much more than they do at the bigger, more commercial zoos.”

However, for those who don’t feel up to “playing marbles” as Keeper for a Day, Mogo offers two alternative programs: the Serval Experience, where two guests can pet and feed the Servals for half an hour ($200) and the Meercat Experience that allows one patron to play with the feisty creatures for fifteen to twenty minutes ($80). In both cases cameras are allowed and encouraged.

“We want people to be able to show their friends and brag about their experience,” Payne explains.

John’s mother seems to have taken that recommendation to heart as she wildly snaps photos of him blanketed in meerkats.

Official Mogo Zoo keeper Cindy McGillivray suddenly interrupts the meerkat talk she’s delivering to the public and orders “Keep your fingers IN, John!” There is a slight twinge of panic in her voice.

“Meerkats are harmless but sometimes they’ll mistake a finger for a worm…” she explains to the audience, all the while keeping a close eye on Cameron and his hands. “They are animals after all. Sometimes even a keeper gets bit.”

Keeper for a Day Program Essentials: Cost: $550 Only available for those aged 16 or older Day lasts from 8:30am-5pm Lunch and Tea included

Address: Mogo Zoo 222 Tomakin Road, Mogo NSW 2536, Australia Telephone: 02-4474 4930 Fax: 02-4474 4855 Email: info@mogozoo.com.au Website: www.mogozoo.com.au

How to get there: From the North (Batemans Bay) Follow the Princes Highway 10km south from Batemans Bay (approximately 10 minutes) until you reach Mogo and follow the signs turning left into Tomakin Road. From the South (Moruya) Follow the Princes Highway 15km north from Moruya (approximately 15 minutes) until you reach Mogo and follow the signs turning right into Tomakin Road.

Types of Animals at the Zoo: Mogo Zoo has over 200 specimens of more than 39 rare species. Highlights not mentioned in the article include Burmese pythons, Sumatran Tigers, plains zebras, fallow deer, pygmy marmosets and Brazilian tapirs.

Other attractions in Mogo: Mogo boasts many quaint cafes, arts and crafts studios and old fashioned lolly shops. It is also a center for the Aboriginal population in the area.