25-Challenging the Traditional Role of Koala Husbandry

Introduction to Big or Best

To move forward, we will need a combination of big ideas and best practices in the way we manage (and pass on) our work in a fast-paced lifestyle, and in the way that we understand what's expected of staff (and duties) in both conservation and captivity roles. Part of the institutions' role throughout the year is knowing when to apply big ideas with best form of workmen-ship, quaintly verse quality and working fast compare to work steadily to a point of slowly downing and waiting altogether. 

The word "Big" refers to several things such as the size of land, ideas generated and institutional/ businesses operations. This type of language is easy to communicate to the public, especially with many animals on display. However, that doesn't mean you have the best set-up.

Most of the time, when a Zoo or any organisation promotes that they are the biggest (whether it be in volume, land size, animal size, staff size etc.) it is irrelevant if they don't feel supported by top management in financial and decision making. To the lower staff, this translates to a lack of respect. But for top management, it's a different set of perspectives, priorities and focus. While in some cases, communication is irrelevant to them (they don't see the need to explain their decision-making to middle and lower staff members). So, these different layers and priorities create friction between the different understandings of the purer purpose, of both housing and wildlife conservation. So, dissent slowly sets in, and filters down to middle-management and has a cascading effect on the entire organisation. 

This is particularly true if upper management don't feel they necessarily have to explain themselves to the rest of the staff. When this happens, it appears that they are putting money toward the incorrect areas or resources due to lack of communication throughout the corporate ladder. This failure of communication across all levels of an organisation creates numerous disadvantages; creating an organisational culture of resentment and mistrust, wasted funds and incorrectly allocated resources. If communication and honesty is broken or non-existent, negative patterns will emerge. This is one of the key pitfalls of being BIG. Large zoological institutions feel that it is necessary to have their own plan rather than be open with their pressures, as this may make them susceptible to criticism in the short term. But having a list of priorities that are transparent will allow for some form of acknowledgement that even the keepers will eventually get their demands met.

The word "Best" refers to the practices and vision in animal husbandry and welfare This can be of both staff and animals. Many people don't think that these two components big or best are linked, however, it is essential that staff feel secure and safe in their roles and have a clear purpose in the future. Planning is essential: both on a day- to-day basis, right up to a 50-year plan.

Looking at the different layers of Best Practices

Smaller institutions generally find it easier to manage this dynamic, as there is a relatively little separation between low-level and high-level jobs. These smaller institutions usually have a clear vision and business plan and are motivated to become the best institution there is. The staff generally feel that they have plenty of autonomy in their roles and they also have meaningful roles. Such latitude creates a better culture and a better life for both animals and humans. Smaller operations are much more flexible in the way they carry out their roles, thus giving their captive animals more mental enrichment, when staff have a greater role to play. They keep mental notes and when a short-term job needs to be completed, they can work well, as this also plays particularly well when knowledge isn't used as a form of power, that allows the ego to overtake work ethic. When used correctly, openness and transparency inspire curiosity and inquisitive mindsets and allow for growth and development using patience and training.

Medium-to-Large operations have their advantages and disadvantages when working in a range of environments, including the different layers in management teams, human behaviour and competitive nature can work for you and against you, which can also generate close-knit groups. In terms of OUR human behaviour, spacing between foot-soldier staff and office-staff can also add another layer of texture. Combine this with the distance between animal enclosures and staff can also play a role, as staff are on the go all the time. Distances play an important role in terms of physical space and decisions making. Some staff may not utilise their time effectively or efficiently - taking two or three trips instead of one - creating a ripple effect as other staff replicate this process which can throw everyone in the team off balance in their preparations. I've seen how one day of having a staff member not focused on the job - or staff shortage - can affect the whole week. With teams of staff it is so important to know when to go fast and when to go slow. In medium-to-large size operations and note also when staff hide themselves from view or stretch their duties into inefficiencies, compared with smaller operations in a smaller environment where it is more observed.

These may be minor but rarely spoken about. For a successful transition from small to medium to a large zoological set-up, constant vigilance is required to ensure the best performances of staff. Again, a positive work environment from the top down is essential for a business to evolve in the right direction. In this case, humour, and attentiveness can go a long way. 

Big koala operations can also refer to the quantity of a resource, such as food. Quantity can be a fine balancing act of more versus less, fast versus slow. Some koala operations fail to understand the finer details and methodical processes of Big. Daily operations can be broken down into pieces, knowing when quantity is needed and not needed. Quantity is an incredibly important aspect of any operation and mistakes can have major consequences when dealing with koala infrastructure in medium and large koala numbers. Best koala operations can refer to the quality of a resource, such as food. Quality balances the value of food, knowing best periods throughout the year when the best quality food can be sourced. When it comes to koala's eating behaviour, knowing when their food is likely to become more toxic is critical. Staff need to be conscious of the time of the year and their own micro behaviour which needs to be in-line with the values and behaviour of the koala and the koala park's business activities while also being mindful of the long-term outlook for both the animals and the business structure. 

So Best also means maintaining the best standards of behaviour within ourselves, as well as the outcome you're trying to create for your koala. An example of this can be viewed on the five cogwheels on the Koala Retreat Professional services page.

The key to working with animals (and even without them) is finding harmony and the balance between business and animal (or human) welfare. To find that balance we need to explore our own behaviour and how our own small behavioural changes can affect the entire system.
Such methodology compliments all levels of the business structure. Using this holistic approach, relationships across the business will be strengthened and will be reflected in the health and wellbeing of the animals and staff.

BIG Versus BEST as an Industry
There are many unknowns in this industry, and as the Australian population grows, so too does the demand for more zoos and wildlife parks. At the same time, a decrease in our native landscape can cause an increase in the demand on the conservation sector. As the Australian population grows, even the conservation sector will see changes. For example, as Port Macquarie koala hospital is slowly evolving into a more commercial entity, as they slowly become more like any zoo or wildlife park in their commercial practices with the underlying theme of koala rescues.

A Growing Industry

With the ongoing growth in West Sydney, there has also been the introduction of the new safari zoo in Blacktown. What's going to happen in the long term in Blacktown (as is happening right now even before the gates open) is more jobs become available with the introduction of a new business. The wildlife industry will be affected by this introduction. In the short term, a vacuum will arise as senior staff depart from their current jobs for an opportunity to experience working in a new environment, but the jobs they leave behind will only to be replaced by inexperienced staff. This shuffle has already begun within an industry at its weakest. It's a form of musical chairs. However, because this industry has already had a fast turnover of staff, industry outsiders may not even notice. The industry itself has a major bottleneck system: meaning the roles young staff are able to achieve long-term, slowly moves into a loss of interest in their work and subsequent disappointment. The smiles when they first arrive seem to disappear after the first few years.

Then you see a different expression, one that reveals a feeling of entrapment, particularly if they didn't have a good experience in the education system. The average keeper in smaller wildlife operations usually leaves after 10 or more years after building their foundation of knowledge. As they generally leave school around the age of 15-16 or so and they don't see a long-term future in this industry anymore or see opportunities to climb the leadership ladder into management.

Some become withdrawn as they feel trapped with such mundane duties so early in their life. They can also feel isolated by the low levels of interaction and lack of exit strategy. They also must deal with the increasing cost of living in the Sydney Basin area. 

Staff tend to go in one of four directions:

1. They leave altogether;

2. They study a higher form of education and push their way into another industry;

3. They stay in the same industry, and;

4. They leave their current position for a different environment under different management and have a different role; or, they will stay and become resentful as they age but still work the same routine while others around them move past them in the corporate chain. 

These days, professionalism comes in many forms and knowledge and experience is one's own intellectual property. The problem with some wildlife institutions, is with a high turn-over of staff, that they match that turnover with an equal amount of employing prevention and risk-management measures. 

But some institutions choose to use the younger, inexperienced kids, who were eager to and enter the industry but weren't properly trained in a changing landscape. They are unaware of the industry standards of the pass and unfortunately don't see that they are unwilling participants contributing to a negatively changing storyline in animal conservation across both the captive and conservation sectors.

Next Article: Dissecting the traditional role of the koala husbandry. 

Looking closely at the meaning of Big versus Best, and how we can maintain the two in a working relationship.

52 articles- 4 themes- 1 story, www.koalaretreat/blog.com