It’s a jungle out there for Jennifer Ferraro. A lifetime animal lover, she works as an animal keeper at the National Zoo’s Bird House, raising ducklings, chicks and other waterfowl.
While Ferraro took a step back from working with animals for several years to raise her children, she’s spent the last five years at the zoo, caring for and breeding the resident animals as well as giving educational talks to guests.
Ferraro lives in Churchton with her husband and two children, Dyllan (14) and Drew (11). The family also has many pets, including two dogs, a parrot and several fish tanks.
What made you interested in zookeeping?
I grew up in Miami, Florida, and I grew up with an affinity for the ocean… when my parents first took me to the Seaquarium, and I saw Lolita the orca jump out of the pool. My life really changed at that moment. I became very passionate about marine science and marine biology, and animal conservation and animal welfare. I read everything I could find on whales, aquatic life.
I moved to Alabama and worked in the environmental field, but I realized I loved working with animals, and so I eventually changed fields, moved to Seattle and worked as a veterinary technician. My mom contacted me about a zoo program in Gainesville, where I really found my true passion.
Tell me about your work at the National Zoo’s Bird House.
If you visit the Prairie Pothole exhibit, which showcases 18 different waterfowl from around the country and specializes in educating people on how that clinical habitat is used for breeding … I help manage the health of those ducks, as well as turkeys and several cranes. I’m jokingly known as “The Duck Girl.”
A lot of my job is in husbandry care… So, there’s a lot of cleaning involved, as well as feeding the birds and coming up with enrichment for them.
One of my favorite parts of my job is interacting with the public. Four times a week, I give a keeper talk about the birds, the habitat and the need for the protection of these habitats and the birds that are in our care.
How do you balance your work life and your family life?
It’s a challenge, since the zoo doesn’t close. Even if we’re not open to the public, we have to be there for the animals. For example, I had to work on Christmas this year. The biggest thing I do is being very open with my children about the importance of my job and how it helps save these animals from extinction. I involve my kids sometimes in the care of these animals, so they will decorate houses I might put together for enrichment, and we’ll have an arts and crafts afternoon together.
We also teach them about the importance of environmental stewardship. They’ve been introduced to one of our Guam Kingfishers, which were extinct in the wild until recently. It’s through the efforts of zoos and aquariums like the National Zoo and keepers such as myself that we’ve actually been able to take these animals from the wild, breed them in captivity and now reintroduce them out in Guam. [My kids] are excited that their mom does zookeeping, and that we’re trying to help the environment and save these birds.
What do your kids think about your job?
They think it’s awesome. My husband’s a physician, and he likes to joke that in any other household, he would be the one invited to Career Day at school, but he can’t compete with me. [My kids] have had the opportunity to travel with me to a number of zoos and aquariums and get behind-the-scenes tours.
Neither of them wants to pursue zookeeping, though, since they don’t like getting dirty. But they find it a lot of fun. They’re always asking about what they call my “duck drama,” especially during breeding season. And they really enjoy the reaction they get when they tell their friends and teachers about what I do.
Family Favorites
Food: Tacos
Activity: Hanging out outside
Local Spot: In D.C., we love the Smithsonian museums and go there all the time. In Maryland, the kids love fishing off of the pier.
Restaurant: In Maryland, there’s a restaurant not far from us that we all love going to called Pirate’s Cove.
Game: Battleship Outer Space. It’s like regular Battleship, but it’s on three tiers and it’s in space. It can get pretty intense.
