Watkins is third generation elephant keeper

July 08, 2013|VICKI ROCK | Daily American Staff Writer
  • Jody Watkins, the new land manager and elephant keeper at the International Conservation Center, with Surkiri, left, and Thandi.
Vicki Rock

Thandi is a bully. She gets along with Surkiri, but not with Seeni or Bette.

Bette, Seeni and Surkiri can be together as long as Thandi is not nearby. But the herd has a pecking order and if a lower ranking elephant gets in front of a higher ranking one, she may get a tusk in the butt. And Jackson, the only male, is always kept separate.

Jody Watkins has to keep all these factors in mind. He is the new land manager and elephant keeper at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's  International Conservation Center near Fairhope,

"Just like in the school yard, Thandi can bully the others," Watkins said. "Some say it's an insecurity issue. Elephants have personalities — some are meek and mild mannered. Elephants are like people; some are angels and others are aggressive. Some bond with people and other elephants and some bond only with people. Some people think elephants can't run. Wrong. Elephants can run 25 miles per hour for quite some time. They are also agile. Rex (a circus elephant) could walk an 8-inch beam, turn on it, then do a handstand."

Watkins has been around elephants since he was 3 years old. He is a third-generation elephant keeper. His family owned Watkins Chimpanzees in Tampa, Fla. They had various animals, including great apes, equines and bears, that they used in circus acts.

"People think that circuses own all their own animals, but only the big circuses, like Ringling Brothers, do," Watkins said. "When a smaller circus comes to town they contract with other companies to bring in some of the animal acts."

Watkins didn't intend on going into the family business. He considered a career in graphic art and attended the University of Kentucky for one year.

"I couldn't see myself behind a desk," he said. "I wanted the freedom of working outside."

He went for training in elephant care at Louisville (Kentucky) Zoo. Bobby Moore, who at one time owned Jackson and other elephants, then offered him a job. After working for Moore, Watkins was hired by the Miami Metro Zoo and then African Lion Safari, based in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

He was a consultant for several years before returning to the Miami zoo. He then worked for Disney Animal Kingdom. He became a consultant for the Kansas City zoo, helping the staff change to "protective contact" in dealing with elephants. Protective contact means the keeper always has a barrier between him and the elephants.

"That doesn't mean you can't get hurt — elephants have very long trunks, but you are safer," he said.

Watkins then worked at the Topeka (Kansas) Zoo, taking care of the elephants' feet and drawing blood from them. Elephants' feet must be cared for because they get a condition similar to athlete's foot and are prone to developing arthritis. He also worked on aggression-management techniques.

"It is important to build trust with the animals," he said. "That enables you to touch them to take care of them."

After Topeka, Watkins went to work for a zoo in Virginia. He was there for two years before being offered the job at the ICC. Willie Theison is the elephant curator, both at the Pittsburgh Zoo and the ICC. Watkins works under his direction. Watkins, 53, is engaged to Jessica Peterson who is still in Virginia. She works for a credit bureau and is looking for a similar position here.

Tracy Gray, zoo spokeswoman, said Watkins is a great addition to the staff.

"He has a lot of experience in working with elephants," she said. "We're glad he was able to come here while we grow the program at the ICC."

Watkins did some training with the female elephants that were transferred here while they were still in Philadelphia. He and Theison went to Botswana, Africa, to look at the three elephants that came to the ICC before the transfer. Those elephants presented more of a challenge because they weren't trained to be handled in the same way as the elephants in the U.S. Several keepers had to learn Senegalese because that's what those elephants understood. There are now four female elephants and one male at the ICC.

The ICC is in a growth and planning stage, he said. The cow/calf barn is being designed. Fundraising is ongoing. The zoo may next bring gazelles and springbok, a type of small gazelle native to South Africa, to the ICC.

"I like it here," Watkins said. "It's a nice big place. Inside the barn is like a zoo, but outside there's 724 acres and fresh air. It's a completely different atmosphere."

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