Managing a Menagerie

By Matt Hawkins

Bradley biology major Alyssah Sison ’17 took her love of animals to Peoria Zoo this summer. As an intern for the city attraction, she became a wiki of animal knowledge that helped her educate zoo guests about the wildlife.

Sison, a Taylorville, Illinois, native, grew up around animals and carried that interest to Bradley. With four pets of her own, she became like a foster parent to a new set of animals this summer.

“I always loved animals and wanted to be involved in education about them,” Sison said. “I knew I needed an experience like this to learn as much as I could about as many animals as possible.”

The internship had a dual focus of care and education. Sison began by learning animal care. She worked with zebras, lions, red river hogs, colobus monkeys and parakeets.

Once she understood how to care for diverse animal species, Sison shifted to education. For this, she worked closely with zoo staff to create enrichment programs to stimulate animals’ minds and physical skills. She also assisted public education programs in which staff took animals into the community. For a final project, she designed an enrichment program for George, the Aldabra giant tortoise.

Though behind-the-scenes work with animals provided beneficial knowledge, public education settings became Sison’s favorite settings.

“I feel it’s vital to learn everything possible to provide children I tutor with knowledge they can use to help save the planet,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching children about conservation and animal care because they love learning about animals.”

The summer gave Sison newfound respect for professional zoo staff. Even though the physical demands and procedural requirements of the job proved too much for a potential zookeeping career, she found inspiration from her mentors.

“I realized how difficult it is to be a zookeeper with all the regulations and duties,” she said. “Despite those, it’s clear the keepers truly love their jobs and care for the animals like family. I’m grateful for the chance to learn from staff even if I find a different career path to work with animals.”