Animal magic for Dudley Zoo's top 10 staff

From caring for giraffes to tending to the gardens and from driving the land train to serving visitors in the shop – there is never a dull moment for the team at Dudley Zoo.

This year marks the attraction’s 80th anniversary so we spoke to 10 members of staff who play roles crucial to its success.

1. Matt Millard is the customer services team leader and works in the gift shop.

“A typical day involves setting up the tills for use, dealing with customers to make sure they have everything they need for a good visit and cashing up at the end of the day,” explained the 31-year-old from Walsall.

He has been in the role for four months and oversees the team of more than 20 staff who also have responsibility for parties and functions held at the attraction as well as the land train.

“I love everything about my job. It’s all about people. All of the staff come together as a team and I really like that. It’s great meeting all of the visitors and helping them to have a memorable day,” he added.

2. Ferrying passengers up and down the steep hill is the job of Rob O’Dell. He is one of four regular train drivers on duty to provide visitors with this vital mode of transport.

Each shift starts with vital checks to ensure the train is ready for the day ahead.

“We check everything to make sure it’s working correctly and we are roadworthy. We check things like the engine, tyres and brake fluid - brakes are very important especially when coming down hill.

“After we’ve done that we are ready to take people up and down the hill,” said the 67-year-old who lives in Netherton.

Rob, who used to work in the printing industry, said: “I enjoy it because it’s completely different to anything I’ve done before because I’ve always been in an office or in a car.”

3. Press officer Rachel Hickman is responsible for promoting the zoo to the outside world by publishing daily news stories on the website and keeping supporters updated via social media.

“My day to day job involves creating a daily news story – we think we are the only zoo in the world do this.

“I also deal with press queries, keep on top of social media like Facebook and Twitter, and work with the marketing team to promote the zoo,” she explained.

It’s a ‘dream job’ for the 33-year-old former newspaper reporter, who lives in Dudley.

“There is no other job like it and no two days are the same so it’s an exciting place to work. I’m animal crazy so being able to work so closely with animals like giraffes and tapirs is incredible,” she added.

Rachel has worked at the zoo for four years and says a recent highlight was her first Facebook Live session where keepers announced the arrival of baby Brazilian tapir Luna. “We had more 6,000 viewers which was incredible,” she added.

4. Graphic designer Rachel Lane is behind many of the signs visitors might see as they walk around the site. She also designed the zoo’s new logo, which features the iconic Tecton wave entrance, castle, foliage, hillside and a gibbon, to mark its 80th anniversary this year.

“It’s a varied role because I work with every department. I might be working on roadside items, making newsletters or leaflets or ad hoc jobs when they are needed,”explained 43-year-old in Halesowen.

Rachel, who has also designed a special feature to mark the progress of the campaign to raise £800,000 for a new outdoor enclosure for the enclosure for the Bornean orangutans, says she loves being creative.

“I get to use different skills like photography and illustration and I really do enjoy everything about my job,” she added.

5. At 74, storeman Bill Newton is the oldest employee on the books. He is responsible for ensuring there is always plenty of food in stock for all of the animals that call the site home.

With plenty of mouths to feed, he manages the supplies so that they never run out.

Bill sorts through the many order forms to ensure no one ever goes hungry and from the stores the food is gathered up each day and delivered to the keepers.

“I order all of the different feeds whether it’s barley, oats,fruit, vegetables or fish.

“The only thing I don’t order is the meat for the big cats because the keepers do that themselves as they know exactly what’s needed each time,” said Bill, who has worked at the zoo for 16 years and lives near Swindon in Staffordshire.

He works four mornings a week and says he has no plans to stop any time soon.

“I enjoy my job and I really feel I’m part of the place now,” added Bill.

6. Whether it’s repairing fences or plumbing, maintenance man Michael Grace, who has been employed at the zoo for almost five years, is kept busy.

The 52-year-old from Oldbury can be called upon to complete a range of varied tasks which include the construction of new enclosures for animals.

“We do a lot of carpentry as well as all sorts of jobs like fencing, roofing and guttering. It’s satisfying to see your finished work especially if it’s benefitting the animals. I came here because I’m passionate about animals.

“There is a lot of work being done to improve the enclosures with time and money being spent on them and the zoo is rapidly improving,” added Michael, who previously worked at an art gallery.

7. Josh Luxton is one of 37 zoo keepers who ensure all of the1,300-plus animals are happy, healthy and content.

The 22-year-old from Oldbury studied at Halesowen College to achieve an NVQ Level 2 and 3 in animal management and an HNC in the same subject.

He works on the ungulates section, which includes giraffes and tapirs, and says a typical day sees him start work at 8.30am.

“We feed and clean out the animals and that’s followed by more feeding and more cleaning throughout the day. We also run the ‘keeper for the day’ experiences.

“Every day is different – the animals make sure of that. They are such characters so there is always something going on. I’ve always had a fascination with animals. I love giraffes because they are so pre-historic - there is so much to learn about them especially their anatomy and physiology.

“A lot of people think tapirs are funny-looking and a bit unappreciative but I think they are so interesting and they do love fuss. You’ve got to love the ugly ones,” added Josh.

8. Gardener and groundsman Anthony Gwilt is one of the longest serving members of staff having been on the payroll since he was a teenager.

He has now clocked up 33 years at the attraction and says he enjoys every part of his job which involves him keeping the grounds looking nice and tidy for visitors.

“I don’t know what I’m coming into each day and every day is different. We have keep everything looking clean and the gardens looking their best. We might be clearing the paths and gritting in bad weather or litter picking.

“We’ve just planted our summer bedding plants and in autumn we’re busy clearing leaves from all of the roads. If we have snow then we will be here early to grit the roads so the keepers can get around to the animals. If there has been a storm and a tree has fallen down, we will be clearing it up.

“There are lot different things we could be doing each day. It’s nice to be able to walk around and see what we’ve done,” explained the 42-year-old, who lives in Kingswinford.

9. Receptionist Claire Phillpott is the newest member of staff having joined the office team six weeks ago.

It’s her job to be the friendly voice on the end of the telephone for visitors making enquiries or families wanting to book parties.

The 37-year-old from Smethwick also responds to emails, deals with all of the post and books people in for ‘keeper for the day’ experiences.

“I love working at the zoo and everything about my job. It’s a great team and everyone is very nice.” she said.

Before starting work at the zoo, she was already a member and is also a regular visitor popping into see the animals at least once a month. I love the anteater because it’s something a bit different and I hadn’t seen one before.

“I also the peccaries because of the way they look at you as though they are trying to decide what to make of you,” added Claire.

10. Finally, overseeing the whole team is director Derek Grove who has been working at the zoo for 35 years.

The 54-year-old, from Stourbridge, started as a trainee keeper before making his way up through the ranks.

He is also responsible for ensuring the zoo continues to make improvements to provide better enclosures for the animals and attract visitors to the 40-acre site.

“As zoo director, I create the direction for the business and ensure we have the money coming in to fund the improvements for the animal enclosures.

There is also the conservation work we fund both at home and abroad.

He says improving an animal’s enclosure gives him the highest job satisfaction. “Although I don’t physically do the work myself anymore, it’s always good when we do this.

“We work to both improve the spaces for the animals and ensure that visitors can see them and want to visit.

“There is no point having, as we see it, the best zoo in the world, if people aren’t prepared to visit so it’s important to get this right,” said Derek.