‘Think outside the box’: New president gives animals the good life at Omaha’s zoo

By Joey Safchik

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Before human onlookers arrive, gorillas are released into an exhibit prime for primates. Lettuce heads are scattered along the wood chip ground and placed high in branches. Large hammocks swing.

But then there’s the excitement we might not notice at first glance. Seeds are hidden in balls, accessible through finger-sized holes. Raisins are squeezed into a puzzle board, prime for plucking.

It is a similar sight in the elephant barn, where produce is buried deep in the sand, and hay is stuffed into holes in the wall.

“Now they get to see what kind of good stuff we’ve got,” said Mitch Anderson, a senior elephant keeper.

KETV Newswatch 7 gets a glimpse behind the glass at how keepers give animals an outlet for natural instincts. In his first one-on-one TV interview, new zoo President and CEO Dr. Luis Padilla shared one of the many secrets to the zoo’s success. Researchers and keepers dive deep into something Padilla calls “enrichment,” to elevate each exhibit.

“That’s pretty special, how our staff sees it that way,” Padilla said. “It’s the physical health, but also the mental well-being is equally important, the totality of health.”

The veterinarian wants to exercise each animal’s brain and body. The gorilla exhibit, with its firehouse swings, may look like a playground, but the habitat is actually a piece of the animal-care puzzle.

Recommended Snow forecast Wednesday, Thursday OmahaWinter storm with dangerous cold, snow could bring blizzard conditions to Omaha area “Just because they think differently doesn’t mean that they’re not intelligent or that they don’t have emotions,” Padilla said.

Keepers stimulate that intelligence by teaching new tricks. Gorillas forage in those fire hose food contraptions. Elephants spar with tires and red balls. And once the public shows up, penguins play with bubbles.

“They’re so curious and inquisitive,” Anderson said of the elephants.

As a gaggle of kids admired the bubble-popping penguins and their mounds of snow, senior keeper Stephanie McIntosh explained that the show is a bonus. The enrichment is for the animals.

“When you come to the zoo, it’s a special treat when you do get to see the enrichment because the birds really do enjoy it,” McIntosh said.

Padilla believes visitors feed off the emotional connection catalyzed by witnessing an animal thrive in its environment.

“They take home a memory of an animal that hopefully they’ll care a little bit more about just because they were here,” Padilla said. “We want people to see animals at their best thriving because they’re stimulated, interacting with items.”

Like the natural world, enrichment ideas are ever-evolving. Keepers get creative, using everyday items for fun and intellectual stimulation. The zoo’s Amazon Wishlist asks for the objects needed to entertain animals.

“We really try to think outside the box,” gorilla senior keeper Clarity Pendegraft said. “You know, there’s so many different items that we can turn into really cool enrichment devices.”

There is also enrichment humans might not notice at all, like changing the currents underwater, manipulating the lighting to match a certain part of the world or infusing an exhibit with a certain smell.

Padilla hopes to spend the rest of his career giving Omaha animals the good life.

“Just seeing how their mind works is pretty amazing,” Padilla said.

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