Stephanie Carr has known that she wanted to work with animals, especially primates, since she was a young girl. Growing up in Dayton, OH, she made frequent trips to the Cincinnati Zoo with her family. On one of those Zoo visits, Stephanie declared that she was going to be a Zookeeper some day. In fact, she was standing close to the spot where she is now throwing a celery snack to the gorillas (see photo above) when she made that statement!
After graduating from Wright State University, with a degree in Biology and a minor in psychology, Stephanie came to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2005 to do an internship in Manatee Springs. She did two years of training in Jungle Trails before landing her dream job as a primate keeper in Gorilla World.
Stephanie enjoys the daily challenges that primates, especially gorillas, offer. “Gorillas are such intelligent animals. Working with them requires creativity, especially when planning enrichment exercises. They won’t get too excited about a ball, which would keep some animals occupied all day long!”
Two-year-old gorilla Bakari is her favorite animal because of his rambunctious nature. Bakari’s mother, Muke, suffered from a severe sinus infection after Bakari was born and almost died. Keepers, including Stephanie, and a team of medical professionals worked together to nurse Muke back to health. That emotional experience, and the joy of the positive outcome, is one she’ll never forget.
Thank you Stephanie for all your hard work and dedication!
Great blog. And kudos to Stephanie..
Your job must be enormously rewarding, Stephanie.
I remember hearing that Muke had a malignancy in a nasal passage that appeared to be terminal. What is her status?
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for taking such good care of the primates in the Cincinnati zoo. Keep up the great work! Sometimes kids do know what they want to do with their lives at a young age,and you never know who will be the next one to become inspired.
As a volunteer at the Gladys Porter Zoo for 20+ years, I would like to say hello and I miss you to Asha. We know that she is where she is needed for the future of gorillas in American zoos. I hope to be able to visit her in the future and see her as a mother. Thank you.