What Is an Elephant Odyssey Ambassador?
Posted at 10:45 am March 6, 2009 by Rick Schwartz
Good question, and pretty easy for me to answer because that’s me, Rick Schwartz! I have been a keeper at the San Diego Zoo for over eight years, working with a wide variety of animals and people. Recently I was given the opportunity to shift my focus from keeper work to ambassador work for the Zoo. As Elephant Odyssey’s ambassador, I get to travel around San Diego and the country as a representative of the Zoo. My job is to share with everyone anything and everything that is Elephant Odyssey.
That said, I need to tell you that this year the San Diego Zoo is going to open the largest exhibit area in its history: Elephant Odyssey. No pun intended, but this area is huge, and the animal care sections are going to be like nothing else out there! Of course, the Zoo is known for the exceptional care it provides to all of its animals, and Elephant Odyssey will set the bar even higher. As for guests visiting Elephant Odyssey, you will be immersed in a bioclimatic zone that will bring you into the environment AND take you back in time, too. Okay, okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here. It’s all so exciting and there’s so much to share, I just can’t wait to tell everyone!
You’re probably thinking, “Do we need an ambassador? Everyone already knows about the San Diego Zoo.” As true as that may be, there are a lot of interesting facts that people may not know. For instance, did you know that elephants under our care range in age from 1 to 54 years old? Our youngest African elephant at the Wild Animal Park, Kamile, is a vibrant 1 year old and our oldest Asian elephant, Cookie, is a mature 54 years old. Did you know that the Zoo’s conservation efforts span the globe? We are conducting habitat studies in Africa, releasing California condors to the wild in North America, studying koalas in Australia, and so much more! Check out our Web’s new conservation section.
There is so much information to share with everyone about the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo Conservation Research! Honestly, my enthusiasm for getting out there and talking to people tends to get the better of me.
Let’s face it: I’ve got a big job to do, one of elephantine proportions! The Zoo has a lot going on all the time, and this year will be more eventful than ever. Between the opening of Elephant Odyssey and the many conservation projects we’ll be highlighting, I am going to be a very busy ambassador, working hard to get the word out to everyone.
For now, as I trade out my zookeeper tools for a laptop computer, I ask that you keep checking our Web site. You’ll find new blogs popping up here and there and new videos coming online; a whole page dedicated to Elephant Odyssey should be debuting this spring.
Rick Schwartz is Elephant Odyssey ambassador for the San Diego Zoo.
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March 6th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Rick, thanks for the great description of your new job, but I just read something very disturbing about a incident up at the Wild Animal Park, A staph infection was passed on to a baby elephant by a keeper and then retransmitted back to four other keepers. How does this happen and what precautions are taken to prevent this from happening again. Why did this baby have to be put down? Are there some vaccination that could have prevented this and is there a chance that this could be passed on to other animals at the zoo.
Public Relations responds: Thank you for your interest in elephants at the Wild Animal Park. Unfortunately, a baby elephant was born at the Wild Animal Park last year that experienced birth complications that affected its ability to thrive. Although animal care staff at the Park worked with the baby for almost four months, they came to the difficult realization that the baby was failing and could not be saved. As part of their work to save the baby, animal care staff worked very closely with her and at some point it appears she picked up a staphylococcus infection (MRSA), which caused some small lesions on her skin. The MRSA infection was in no way related to the baby elephant’s death.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I am happy for you Rick! you sound very excited about being oddyssey ambassador! lots of new things going on and lots of things to share. good luck and we will look forward to up-dates on what’s goin on.
March 7th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Rick well wishes to you and your new job duties, sounds like a fun and interesting job, as ambassador. I love all animals especially on the cameras, I want to know if we could see inside the African elephant house. I have always wanted to see how they all fit in there. Why are their no web cams on the Asian elephants? Good Luck!
March 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Hi! Congrats to Rick on his new adventure as elephant odyssey ambassador! He’s will have a lot of fun with all of these elephants, and I’m also looking forward to alot of updates about what’s going on with the elephants. Have fun, Rick!
I also read the article about the MRSA outbreak at SDZ’s WAP on the MSNBC news website. It’s very unfortunate that Lungile’s calf caught this stubborn virus which probably compromised her already delicate health condition. I know that NONE of the zoo’s staff had any intention of spreading this disease to anyone or any animal, it’s just the nature of this virus that just hits with a vengeance and can be very resistant to some anitbiotics. I’m glad that everyone who had the MRSA has recovered, and that all of the staff are now taking extra precautions on their cleaning and sterile procedures to make sure that this virus doesn’t come back on them again. MRSA is a very tough little bug to deal with under any circumstances in any place and/or environment, and we all need to be very aware of how this disease operates and have preventive measures in mind at all times. Hopefully, Lungile will be able to get pregnant again soon and have a very healthy elephant calf!
Well, gonna go and do some things. Will write back later! Keep sending good updates about the elephants, ok? Especially Khosi, Punga, and Kamile—the 3 kids!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
March 8th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Know your work from the Zoo – and can’t wait to see and hear about your escorting the “previous version of the SoCal elephant” statues across the country.
March 9th, 2009 at 6:41 am
I would like to thank the Public Relations for their response. I didn’t realize this was lungile’s baby, I am also glad that the staff has all recovered and every precaution is being taken to prevent this from happening again. So many stories about MRSA has been in the papers lately and it’s just a nasty germ that can hit with a vengence. Nobody is to blame and I believe it’s a good time to for all of us to educate ourselves about this deadly virus. I love to watch the elephants and thank all the staff and keepers for the care and attention they give these animals.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Thank you all for your comments and responses to my first blog post. The job is keeping me very busy, but as I say, “It’s a good kind of busy.” I have already had a few really fun experiences and will be posting as much as possible on the blog to keep you all updated. Along with keeping you all up to date with my adventures, I will do my best to respond to comments as time permits. Just keep in mind it might take me a few days…
My best,
Rick
March 11th, 2009 at 1:37 am
I’m SO excited for EO to open. It says 8 elephants will be in the exhibit. Which elephants, and where will they be coming from? I know Tembo, Devi, and Smitty will move over, but who else? Also, do we have a set opening date? Thanks so much! I’m SOOO excited!!
March 11th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hi Ally!
I’m so glad to hear how excited you are – I am too! Our scheduled opening date for Elephant Odyssey is May 23. At this time we are planning on having at total of seven elephants at Elephant Odyssey. This will include the Asian elephant herd from the Wild Animal Park and the three elephants that live at the Zoo. Keep checking back; I’ll be posting more information every week here on the blog.
My Best,
-Rick
March 13th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Hi,Rick! Why will you leave the lone african elephant at the new exhibit instead of moving her to the wild animal park to be with her own species?
March 14th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Hi Rick,
What a great job you have! I am so excited about EO. I have been waiting for this since 2005 and it is finally here. WOW! Keep up the great work and enjoy every precious minute of your awesome job.
Suzy
March 15th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I’am dissapointed that you are leaving the lone african elephant at the zoo and not intergrating her into the herd at the park with her own species
Moderator’s note: Rick is writing a blog post about the Zoo’s African elephant, Tembo. Look for it later on today.