YOU probably won’t be surprised to hear that all the staff at the Lake District Park are animal lovers!
Working with animals has been scientifically proven to be good for mental health and well-being.
So, Keepers at the Park have this extra benefit every day! The indoor team on reception and in the café may not get that close to the animals, but they do still get a chance to see some of their favourites every day. And that is better than nothing!
This week, Katie Sharrock who works on reception and the café tells us about some of her special moments…
“When I first started volunteering at the Lake District Wildlife Park, many years ago, on my first day I was lucky enough to meet a baby Tapir called Zico at only a few months old.
"He was small, cheeky and always running around with his mother, Muffin.
"To my surprise he was covered in stripes and spots, which at first was quite funny as I had never seen a walking watermelon before! Later I discovered that the nickname for a young Tapir is actually 'brown watermelon'.
"Any chance I got, I would go and visit and just watch the mother and son pair. Given the opportunity I would groom both Muffin and Zico as they just seemed to love it.
"Zico in particular loves to have his chin scratched, meanwhile Muffin likes to take this time to have some peace and quiet.
"Since Zico and I have been at the Park for near enough the same time, I have always had a soft spot for him. Little did I know that a few years later when I started working in the Park café and reception, I found myself lucky once again, as out of the shop window I can see Muffin and a now adult Zico running around and playing or waiting for his next tummy tickle.
"Muffin and Zico have always been real favourites with visitors to the Park. They are the first animals that people see.
"Those who have booked an animal experience or have celebrated World Tapir Day with us in the past get to meet the famous pair. Muffin and Zico have stolen the hearts of many visitors and they are a pair of big softies.
"They really do seem to enjoy being groomed and we know this because they will close their eyes and lie down and just lap up the attention!"
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