Hello
everyone! My name is Marcos Aguiar and I’m originally from Ceara, Brazil. Since
a very young age I always enjoyed working and being around animals of all
kinds, so I decided to become a veterinarian. I moved to Colorado in the US to
start my college education as a pre vet student. A few months into the program
I found out that being a veterinarian just wasn’t for me. So I decided to go
into Zoology. Although I had no idea what I would do with a Zoology degree, I
figured I would work with animals at the very least. A few months after
graduation, I found out what my true passion would be. I became a Zookeeper!
I started working as a zookeeper at the Alaska Zoo a few months after finishing college. It was the best experience of my life. Just being around wolves, polar bears, moose and even goats, always put a smile on my face. Sure living in the frigid cold of Alaska was a real challenge for a Brazilian, even after 4 years in Colorado. But the animals and the other zookeepers made it all so much worth it. Unfortunately nothing really lasts forever. The extreme cold would eventually catch up to me and I decided to leave Alaska. Unable to stay any longer in the US, I went back to Brazil for about a year trying to decide what to do next. I finally decided to come up to Canada to continue my studies, pursuing a degree in Animal Health and eventually getting a masters degree in Zoology. But my main goal will always become a zookeeper again.
My time working at the Alaska Zoo showed
me just how important new forms of communication are to spread knowledge among
a wide range of people. A very important part of being a zookeeper is educating
people about the various species of wild animals. Just a few weeks before I left the zoo started using facebook. It didn't take long for facebook to become very important. The fast information dissemination allowed
the zoo to make announcements about special events and new animal arrivals. It
became much easier to be closer to the zoo and specially to the animals living there. One great example would be when the
Alaska Zoo got a polar bear cub for the first time in about 9 years. It was
after I was already in Brazil, but thanks to facebook I was able to know about
the new arrival just a few minutes after the cub was there. With pictures and
posts published on the zoo page I was able to follow closely the time the small
bear stayed at the zoo. It was a very memorable experience. Even if I was
thousands of kilometers away I felt like I was a part of that.
This newer, faster form of communication is very important for our society. And
it will become even more important as more people learn about these new tools. I too am learning about
using twitter and blogging. I hope that in a near future I'll be able to use
these tools to educate the public about wild animals.
Any further information about the Alaska Zoo can be found here:
Really liked how applicable connecting has been to you! The thing that caught my eye in this blog was the idea of connection. When Marcos speaks about working at the Alaska Zoo he talks about the importance of good communication to ensure the guests get an understanding of the animals and the zoo. The addition of Facebook to their communication quest is awesome! Facebook is a simple, accessible way to network with other people in your profession, and have the chance to reach out to 'friends of friends'. When Marcos leaves Alaska he says the way he kept connected was through their Facebook page. Facebook tends to be a platform that is not only accessible anywhere where there is internet, but it is also a great platform for discussion and interaction.
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