ZOOmaniacs at work

Adam Banaszek has been the foreman of the ungulates section for many years. The animals under his care include zebras, camels, antelopes, European bison and bison. You can often see him touring the Garden by bike, looking in on his charges. The section under his management is one of the most dynamically developing in the zoo, and the collection of ungulates is constantly growing. One of the greatest successes was the birth of scimitar oryxes, sika deer, pudú and giraffes. We hope that every year, we will witness more births of valuable animal species.

Foreman of the Non-Ungulate Mammals Section – Carnivores He takes care of polar bears, seals, lions, cheetahs, tigers, but also meerkats, anteaters and otters. Of course, he does not take care of all animals personally. The staff of the non-ungulate carnivores includes four other carers, who have about 60 animals under their care. They are responsible for feeding and taking care of the animals and, of course, cleaning the enclosures. The greatest breeding successes of this section include the propagation of small pandas, Sumatran tigers, snow leopards and maned wolves.

Beata Jankowska is the keeper of meerkats, anteaters and small pandas. She has a “perfect hand” for rearing orphaned baby animals or those rejected by their parents. She managed to “make something” out of a dozen or so meerkats, squirrel monkeys, squirrels and other creatures. All the pupils love her. Ms Jankowska has the longest work experience among all caregivers in the section of non-ungulate carnivores.

Foreman and deputy head of the Birds Section. Author of publications on birds and numerous articles on animals (Magazyn Weterynaryjny). In the 90s, he was the first in Poland to raise a white cockatoo by hand from hatching. He has also raised and fed many other young cockatoos, grey parrots, Amazon parrots, and other exotic birds.

She has been working at the Warsaw Zoo since the beginning of the 90s (earlier she worked in the herpetarium, aquarium, sometimes also with insects, she was also a cashier for several years). As she says herself, working in the animal feeing department, she learns about the behind the scenes of nutrition and it gives her great satisfaction. She most likes to prepare animal breakfasts, she always tries to do it efficiently so that all products are fresh, likes to pick the vegetables for grated animal mixes so that, as she says, “the colours match”. She prepares the most beautiful special occasion cakes for the animals.

His great passion are animals perceived as unpleasant and dangerous, such as spiders, scorpions, myriapoda, cockroaches and many, many others. He knows how to deal with these little creatures and how to make them multiply. Contrary to appearances, invertebrates can also be social and some of them are very accustomed to their caregiver. Mr Siewierski can share his knowledge and passion with others. His educational activities are very popular among students.

The forewoman of the Non-Ungulate Mammals – Great Apes section supervises the work of the chimpanzees’ and gorillas’ keepers. When working with these incredible animals, you have to show great patience and dedication. Great ape caretakers spend several hours a day with their charges – they prepare meals, conduct observations, make the time more pleasant by providing various entertainments and toys and, of course, clean up the enclosures. The apes grow very attached to their caregivers and do not like and trust everyone.