A Day in the Life: Nicole Darland, Hoofstock and Bird Keeper

They say that the early bird catches the worm. Fortunately, all of the birds in Nicole Darland’s care get more than enough love and food to eat.

Darland was born and raised in Hot Springs but has also lived in Bryant and North Little Rock. A graduate of Bryant High School, Darland went to college in Hot Springs at National Park Community College.

“After I graduated from college, I started working on animal jobs to bulk up my resume because trying to get into the zoo field is very competitive. I worked at vet clinics, focusing on clinics that worked with exotic animals, for about six years altogether,” Darland said.

Darland’s passion for exotic animals came to fruition after she talked with a zookeeper at the Little Rock Zoo.

“I came to the Little Rock Zoo and was able to talk to a zoo keeper. I asked him how to get into the zoo field, and he told me to get whatever job I could and then shift around to where I wanted to be but always be open to animals because you might be surprised who you fall in love with. That day, I signed up for job notifications for the city of Little Rock and I was able to get a job in Café Africa, in the heart of the zoo,” Darland explained. “I started talking to all the keepers that would come in for lunch and would tell anyone and everyone who spoke to me that I wanted to be a zoo keeper.”

Darland’s dream was even closer to coming true when she was offered a seasonal position at the Zoo.

“After about four months, I was offered a job in the Rainbow Lorikeet Aviary for a seasonal job. I had always wanted to work with large cats, but I took the bird job hoping I would be able to shift over to cats at some point,” Darland said. “I spent the summer working with lorikeets, and the keepers in the bird department started cross-training me at the end of summer. My job was coming to an end, and one of the part-time permanent jobs opened up, and I was put into that position.”

Valentine’s Day Enrichment with Fiona, the Female Greater Kudu

After patiently waiting and working for two years, a full-time position opened in the same area, and Darland was able to move up.

“I have now been the full-time hoofstock and bird keeper for seven years. During my training as the part-time keeper, I was introduced to the Red River Hogs and absolutely fell in love with them, and a warthog, who has since passed. I love working with them so much that I have basically forgotten about wanting to work with large cats,” Darland said.

Today, Darland works with 20 different species of birds and eight different species of mammals daily. She shared what her day-to-day routine looks like.

“My normal daily routine starts at 7:30 a.m. First, I go visit all the animals in my area, making sure they are all happy and healthy. Once everyone is accounted for, I move on to diet prep for the day,” Darland explained. “A lot of our diets are premade by the commissary staff, but a few things we prep the morning of. After all the diets are ready and good to go, I start cleaning. Typically, I start with our tropical birdhouse since it is open to the public by 10 a.m. Then, I’ll move on to the rainbow lorikeet enclosure. After the aviaries are taken care of, I will go to the overlook trail and start cleaning the exhibits along that route. About this time, it’s lunchtime, so I’ll take my lunch. Once back, I go through and check on all the animals in my area again and feed all the diets from the morning. After all the exhibits are cleaned and the animals are fed is when I do any projects like building things for the animals, raking exhibits or deep-cleaning any barns.”

For Darland, the afternoons are when she does research on the animals, reaching out to other keepers at different zoos or logging on to different animal sites to learn more about the animals that she takes care of.

“We also do our keeper chats around the Zoo, train the animals and give enrichment during the afternoons. Around 3:30 p.m. is when we start closing down, so we pick up any leftover food and get their beds ready for the night. Once everyone is accounted for and bedded down, we leave for the day around 4:30 p.m.,” Darland said.

Darland shared some of the skills that an individual would need to be good at this job.

“The two biggest skills that have helped me in my time here have been paying attention to detail and learning patience. Paying attention to the small details while working with animals can help them in so many ways. Doing this requires you to learn the behaviors of the animal as a species and as an individual. Knowing these things can help you better care for them and even help you spot an illness or injury they may have,” Darland said. “Patience has also been a huge one I have had to learn and work on daily. The animals have no sense of time, nor do they understand being rushed. So you have to be patient with them because we try our best to let the animals do most things on their own. Also, we do a lot of talking with kids; with a single child, it is easy, but when we have large groups, the kids get so excited and they all want to ask you a question all at once, and it can be overwhelming at times.”

Training Passion Flower, a Female Red River Hog, to Stand on a Scale

Darland shared some of the challenges she has faced caring for birds and other animals.

“My challenges normally come in the way of training an animal to do a behavior. We like the animals to do things on their own, making their care easier for us and less stressful for them. For instance, instead of sedating or putting an animal into a crate and then weighing them, it’s much easier and less stressful to set the scale in and ask the animal to stand on it,” Darland said. “It sounds easy enough, but different animals have different ways of thinking and different learning speeds. You have to find what the animal wants, and that can be an apple or butt scratch. You have to find how to get through the biggest language barrier ever. How do you get the hog to understand you want him to walk onto the scale and then stand there? Finding how to get the different animals to do what we need them to do has always been a challenge, but once you figure it out so you and that animal are speaking the same language, it just clicks. Sometimes you can see the click in their eyes, too — ‘Oh, this is what you want!’ That is a huge triumph on its own.”

Darland has also had plenty of success in her zoo career as well.

“My biggest success is when I have earned an animal’s trust. The two biggest ones have been with our Catalina macaw, Pesos, and the male greater kudu, Mombo. Pesos is a normal macaw and typically likes one person and doesn’t care for anyone else. She is very picky about the people she lets hold or touch her and work with her. It took me almost two years of being around her before I was able to work with her,” Darland said. “Mombo’s trust was a huge goal and success for me because once he decided I was trustworthy, it made working with him so much easier. Having his trust also allowed me to be able to be more hands-on with him, which was a big plus when he broke his horn and we were having to clean it daily. I do always keep my eyes on him while in his space because he is a large animal at 400 lbs. with 3 ft. horns; he does like to ask for face scratches from time to time, which always feels like a blessing from him.”

Keeper Chat with Pesos the Macaw

Darland offered a few words of advice for individuals hoping to get involved in zookeeping.

“The best advice I was ever given was to get into the zoo field however you can. Take whatever job gets you through the gate, then work on shifting to where you want to be. Also, always be open because you never know what animal you will fall in love with,” Darland said. “Start early and get experience where you can. Look for internships. Some zoos will hire their interns if they meet the requirements for the job. I started my experience at vet clinics, and that was enough to at least get me into a seasonal summer job, and the rest is history.”

Lastly, Darland shared some of the life lessons that she’s learned from a career in zookeeping.

“Time is short, life is quick and everything we do impacts something or someone else. The better I do my job and the more I learn about the animals I work with, make their lives better. ‘Our best work is their best life.’ I try to be more present in life; things here happen so fast, if you aren’t paying attention, it’s gone and over,” Darland said. “Get off your phone and look around; your life is happening right now all around you. Be present. Be the main character in your story.”