Keeper Chats

Learn more about the unique animals in our zoo straight from their zookeepers!

Where Are the Keeper Chats Located?

Keeper Chats are located in front of the designated habitat. For example, if it is a Sloth Keeper Chat, head to the sloth habitat in the Ararat Ridge Zoo to watch it.

What Time Are the Keeper Chats?

Keeper Chat times vary by season, so when you arrive, check your daily schedules for times. Keeper Chats last approximately 15 minutes.

What Animals Will I See?

Keeper Chats vary by day, so when you arrive, check your daily schedules to see which animals will be featured.

Can I Touch the Animals?

Keeper Chats typically highlight the larger, more exotic animals in our zoo. If they are wild animals, we do not allow guests to touch them. However, you will be able to see them up close as they participate in training or enrichment activities.

What Types of Keeper Chats Are There?

Aoudad Sheep

It’s a sheep! It’s a goat! It’s amazing! Watch a training session with our mountain-climbing masters.

Camelids

Did you know camels, llamas, and alpacas are related? Learn about this unique created kind while meeting our camelids!

Children’s Zoo

Watch a training demonstration with our Children’s Zoo animals and learn about their care from their zookeepers!

Cranes

Did you know cranes love to sing and dance? Meet these flamboyant feathered friends and learn about their incredible design!

Emus

Did you know emus can run 30 mph? Or that their eggs look like avocados? Learn about Australia’s largest birds from their zookeepers!

Hornbill

Head to Monument Walk to meet one of our zoo's most intelligent and unique birds—Kuku, the Von der Decken’s hornbill!

Lemurs

Did you know a group of lemurs is called a conspiracy? Learn all about lemurs and watch them interact with their trainer!

Porcupines

Do porcupines shoot their quills? Meet the world’s largest porcupines and watch them play with their zookeepers!

Sloths

Did you know sloths swim faster than they climb? We are “slow” excited to teach you more about sloths!

Tortoise and Friends

Meet our 100-pound tortoise and his scaly friends to learn about God’s design in reptiles!

Zebroids

Zebras and zonkeys and zorses, oh my! Learn about our unique hybrids and the meaning of created kinds!