Q+A with Zoo Keeper Myrto Anastasiou

Navigating the Zoological career field can be intimidating. You will be hearing from Myrto Anastasiou, a young ambitious Greek, who is taking her first steps in the zoological field. In the Panoramic Ocean Journal, we will be uncovering hard lessons learned, finding inspiration from those around, and more.

Without wasting any further time, let's quickly ask some questions and get responses from Ms. Myrto.

Hi Myrto, thank you for agreeing to talk to Panoramic Ocean. Please give us a rundown of your experience in the Zoological Field so far. 

Hello Kaylen, and thank you for this opportunity. It's an honor to be part of the journal. My path in the zoological field started at 8 yrs old when I visited a zoo for the first time. At such a young age, I experienced the relationship between a trainer and a dolphin in a marine mammal presentation. At that moment, I turned to my Mum and told her that's what I wanted to do with my life. Going forward, I always begged for more zoo trips. Then, when I was old enough to access the internet, I started researching volunteer and job opportunities. I always dreamed of the moment I was old enough for a chance like that!

  Before my 18th birthday, the Attica Zoological park in Greece released a service learning program. The service learning program was my first opportunity to work in the zoological field. I sent many emails and made many calls before I got the news that I would be a marine mammal care intern. The ability to start working towards my life dreams was a surreal feeling, and getting the opportunity to work alongside people, I grew up admiring. Seeing how zoological facilities work from the inside can be vital for people to understand what it means to take care of animals. 

June of 2022 came, and I was offered my first position in the field as a zoo educator, and by August of 2022, I was a seasonal zookeeper for the zoo's elephants and great apes team.

Wow, Congratulations to you. For just starting your career, you have some amazing experiences. Please expand more on your Marine Mammal Internship Facility. 

My internship was at Attica Zoo in Athens, Greece. Attica Zoo is a member of EAZA(European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) and EAMM (European Association of Marine Mammals). The zoo is the only facility in Greece seeing thousands of visitors annually. 

The Attica Zoo mirrors my passion for conservation. They support several organizations: PELARGOS- an independent non-profit civil company created by Attica Zoological Park to protect and preserve Greek wildlife. MOM- the Hellenic Society for researching and protecting the Mediterranean monk seal, even housing their rehabilitation center where many orphaned seal pups have been treated over the years and successfully returned to greek waters.

What was a day in the life of Intern Myrto? 

In the first few moments of every shift, I always made a point to get visuals on the animals and tell them good morning. Going into fish prep with a stinky park shirt and dunking your hands in cold water will wake you up! Throughout the day, I would complete husbandry tasks such as preparing enrichment, cleaning coolers, and prep diets. Husbandry tasks are hard work, but I would have willingly washed hundreds more buckets with a smile still on my face. 

After proving myself throughout the weeks, I was fortunate to observe training sessions and assist when needed. By the end of a shift, I smelled of fish, my feet ached, I had knots in my hair, and a smile on my face. I was ready to do it all again the next day because, for the first time in my life, I knew I was doing what I was meant for. 

“200kilograms of elephant poop? Piece of cake”

Describe your favorite moment of the internship.

That is a challenging task. I cannot limit it to one moment. Undoubtedly the people I was with made this experience incredible! Being active in training sessions was very special. One day I was asked to step up to TWO dolphins! In that session, I worked with a Senior Trainer I grew up admiring. It was my ''I made it" moment to work next to the woman who started it all for me. I learned a lot in that session and was beyond happy to be trusted to work with those dolphins under her watchful eyes. 

Another core memory from my internship was when I was hosing down the dolphin habitat viewing glass. One of the dolphins swam up to me and observed me clean for the rest of the time. The dolphin seemed fascinated with me, just like I was with them. From then on, my new friend would always follow me, checking me out. I would eat my lunch near the viewing glass to spend more time with him. That moment of us locking eyes through the glass for the first time will stay with me forever.

The more I think about all the amazing memories I made, the harder it is to keep myself from writing them all down.

What advice would you give someone who wants to be a Marine Mammal intern one day?

Take your time. Take your time getting started and take advantage of the journey to getting there. And for your sake, do not compare yourself to others; each of us has a journey, and it wouldn't be fair to compare your own to someone else's. 

Be kind to everyone because you never know who you will work with in the future, and it's important to cultivate a positive work environment.

Oh, and a bonus for when you land your internship is to ask tons of questions at appropriate times! You are there to learn, and observing alone can get you only so far, so ask and listen.

Your first paid position in the field was as an educator, and then shortly after, you were offered a seasonal zookeeper position. How did that initial role in education prepare you for your keeper position? 

The zoo educator role allowed me to observe the zookeeper's tasks. Seeing the keepers in action and working alongside them as an educator benefited me immensely. In addition, it helped me learn that there was more to the zoo than marine mammals, and I would be ecstatic to participate in it.

In education, I learned how to build a connection with a guest. That meant polishing skills like presenting to different demographics. I also got the opportunity to interact with many zoo animals and care for the education center's ambassador animals. Building a name for myself in the zoo and meeting people were among the biggest advantages working in the education department gave me.

Describe your favorite moment of your seasonal keeper position.

I am still trying to pick! My coworkers made me feel at home. I had a lot of fun with them as they taught me. So many of my most cherished memories are with them. 

A memory of the animals I hold dear to my heart is my first time interacting with elephants. Interacting with such massive and intelligent animals brings some new perspective into your life. I love that elephants are similar to dolphins because you can tell they recognize you. 

The rhinos were probably my second favorite to interact with—such gentle giants, like massive pachyderm puppies almost. While the sun was still rising, they were the first animal we fed. It is in those quiet moments that I felt true peace.

Admittedly though, interacting with the gibbons always brought a smile to my face and filled my heart with childlike joy. I remember very clearly the moment one of the gibbons took a piece of food directly from my hand with her mouth instead of grabbing it as they usually did with their hands. I was shocked and over the clouds with happiness. Playing with the young gibbons and swinging them around like children was one of my favorite parts of the day when it occurred.

The Zoological field has been the subject of debate in recent years. How did you research the field and decide to enter? 

Like many young people, I grew up when zoological facilities faced heavy scrutiny. I kept researching both sides of the 'under human care' debate to be more certain than ever that I wanted to support zoological facilities.

To anyone, a future zoological worker or curious person, put in the time, and you will find all the necessary data to create an informed opinion. Asking questions and actively listening to people in the zoological field is extremely important; we can all be better about that.

How has your experience as an Intern and Zookeeper influenced how you approach animal care?

In your first weeks as an intern, you will learn how to approach animals safely and the principles of positive reinforcement training. In my downtime, you could catch me reading Ken Ramirez's Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement. Also known as the animal training bible. I loved reading a chapter and then asking questions to the trainers. I witnessed how the concepts explained in the chapter were applied in real scenarios daily. In this field, you need to have a personal drive to always progress and grow. Hunt down every opportunity to learn and evolve!

Making connections and meeting people is essential to thriving in the field. I have found some incredibly supportive people in the field and am grateful to have them in my life. 

Have you ever faced any additional challenges being so young in Zoological? 

Proving to those around you that you are an adult and think like one takes time, especially when you start so early. Respect is earned, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It is much more reinforcing when you have achieved your position at "the table" after your hard work and get asked for your opinion! It is important to respect the people who have been in the field for longer than you and some of them longer than you've been alive! I was more than willing to learn from those around me. Soaking up all the insight my coworkers had to offer helped prepare me for the opportunity to showcase my knowledge and prove myself. I matured during my time on the Marine Mammal team. At the end of the internship, I felt confident and more ready for the challenges ahead.

Any last parting advice for us? 

It wasn't all easy, I've been faced with disappointment, rejection, and ugly behaviors more than once, but those are all part of the journey. Every obstacle strengthens you, and the right doors will be opened when the time and circumstances are right. 

• Always accept help. 
• Know your limits. 
• More information is available daily in this field, so keep yourself from thinking you know enough. There's always space for more!
• Allow your dream to change. Don't limit yourself to one or two species. You might be surprised by how much you will love working with a different species from the one you had in mind. 
• Soak in every single second of the journey and those moments when you are living your dream. 
• Permit yourself to experience disappointment when the rejection letter comes because it will make your first time looking into your animal's eyes much more special. 
• Let the good, the bad, AND the ugly engrave themselves in your brain. 

Be present. You will look back one day and want to remember everything from the feeling of dolphin skin under your fingertips to the smell of fish and the pain in your arms after shoveling elephant poop. So every day, take the time to stop and smile for a few seconds because you've come so far. 

You can read more Q+A and journal entries at Panoramicocean.com #bepurposeful