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Photography courtesy of the Saint Louis Zoo
Zookeeper Eric Jeltes in the Mariana Islands with a Mariana fruit dove.
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Photography by Dick Daniels, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Zookeeper Eric Jeltes describes one of his favorite birds, the Mariana fruit dove, as "just a rainbow of colors."
The nearly 19,000 animals living at the Saint Louis Zoo may be the stars of the operation, but during National Zookeeper Week, July 20–26, they’ve ceded the spotlight to the more than 100 tenders who keep them fed, groomed, and cheery.
SLM Daily recently spoke with Eric Jeltes about life as a zookeeper: working behind the scenes—and occasionally being outwitted by his feathered friends. He's studied animals around the world, including Mariana fruit doves and the totally weird-looking and adorable echidna. Jeltes, age 38, has worked at the Saint Louis Zoo as a full-time bird keeper for 12 years. When he’s not caring for the youngest of the zoo’s feathered flock, you can often spot him tending to the birds around the zoo’s lakes.
What drew you to work with birds?
I find flight and feathers fascinating. Eggs and egg incubation are fascinating to me. And there's the diversity of birds: We have everything from eagles to fruit doves to penguins to ostriches to ducks to flamingos. It’s just an amazing array of species.
What's your favorite species?
It changes almost daily, depending on what I’m involved with. Some of my favorite are the Mariana fruit doves. I’ve been to the Mariana Islands through our conservation programs, so I’ve seen and worked with these birds in the field. Some of my other favorites are our American white pelicans.
What do you find interesting about the Mariana fruit doves?
Besides the fact that they are just a rainbow of colors—they’re bright green with a red cap, and they have yellow and purple—it’s a very challenging bird to work with in a captive situation. It presents a unique challenge to emulate their habitat in the Mariana Islands and transfer that to a captive situation to get them to reproduce and act in captivity the way they would in the wild.
What about the American white pelican?
They’re just cool. They’re pelicans, so they’ve got big beaks and giant pouches. They’re very sociable and have a lot of personality. Each bird really has its own personality. We hand-feed the pelicans every day. We do that so they are getting their vitamins, and if they need any medications, we’re able to distribute the proper medication to the proper bird. It also makes a nice presentation for the public.
Do you have any stories about the birds outwitting the keepers?
Some of our Collie’s jays—it’s a species of jay from Mexico—like hiding their food, which consists of bugs, worms, and small vertebrates like mice. Sometimes, we'll find a pile of food stashed somewhere, like in a corner of the exhibit where we never thought to look.
Are there any birds that are particularly difficult to keep in their cages?
[He laughs.] You know about our female isis macaw, don’t you? We use piano wire inside the Bird House as a barrier: You can see through it easily, you can focus cameras through it easily, and you can hear sounds through it easily so it’s almost as if it isn’t there. But of course, it’s still a barrier that can be manipulated—especially by something like a macaw. She’s really good. She knows how to manipulate it and can come to the outside of the wire. But she just goes back, and it’s fine.
What's your daily routine?
I’m responsible for waterfowl on the main lakes around Lakeside Café: ducks, geese, swans, flamingos, and pelicans. I’m also responsible for our bird-department nurseries. I do a lot of hand-raising of waterfowl. I also raised a snow egret from the flight cage this year.
What’s something that most people don’t realize about your job?
Most people just see us cleaning and feeding. Those are the things that are most visible to the public... Things they don’t see are the artificial incubation. A lot of times, we encourage the parents to do so themselves, but if for whatever reason they prove to not be very good parents, we do it... A lot of people also don’t see our efforts in conservation programs worldwide. They don’t see me in Peru censusing Humboldt penguins or in the Mariana Islands working with the Mariana fruit doves or Saipan golden white-eye.
Did you always want to become a zookeeper?
I’ve been interested in animals and natural things since I was a kid. When I was in high school, my parents said "Hey, maybe try an internship at the zoo." So I worked with the people at my high school [Parkway Central], who worked with the people here at the Saint Louis Zoo, and I was awarded an internship as a senior. That went so well that it led to a part-time job, which has led to a lifelong career.
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On Thursday, July 24, zookeepers at the Saint Louis Zoo will host additional animal-enrichment activities and chats with visitors. Here’s the schedule for the morning:
• 9 a.m.: Andean bear enrichment and keeper chat in River's Edge
• 10 a.m.: Lemur enrichment and keeper chat at the Primate House
• 10:30 a.m.: Red kangaroo enrichment at Red Rocks
• 11 a.m.: Giant tortoise enrichment and keeper chat outside of the Herpetarium
• 11:30 a.m.: Chimpanzee enrichment and keeper chat at Fragile Forest
• Noon: Keeper chat at Children's Zoo
Keeper chats are also offered throughout the zoo daily at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., as well as on Saturdays and Sundays at 5 p.m.
