Welcome to my series of interviews with some wonderful people who work within the natural world, from zoo keepers, to museum curators and everything in between and those that are on the path to working in these positions too. Be inspired for a future where you can combine your love of nature with your day job. I hope you enjoy these interviews, that you can learn something from them and they can inspire you.

Now let me introduce you to Sandra.....

Name

Sandra Rainey

Age

44

Location

Fife, Scotland

What do you do?

Lead Animal Keeper at Fife Zoo

How did you get into it?

When I said at school that I wanted to work with animals, but not as a vet, I was told to “get a real job”. So I followed a lot of my friends into the NHS and trained as a nurse. But I always had my dream in the back of my head. After completing 3years of nurse training I had gained more confidence in myself and pushed to pursue a career in animal care. I gained a BSc (Hons) in Animal Biology. While studying I worked part time in the ticket office of a safari park and volunteered with the animal team one day a week. After I graduated a job came up at the safari park which I was lucky enough to secure through showing them already how dedicated I was.

What made you want to do what you do?

I was I introduced to monkeys as a 2 year old by my grandad (my dear papa) through a book he bought me. I was obsessed since then. But all animals hold a very dear place in my heart. From the various pets I had growing up to the weird and wonderful exotics I watched on David Attenborough. It developed in to wanting to make any kind of contribution to saving these wonderful species and educating others on how amazing they are.

What does it involve?

The zoo I work at right now is a small family run zoo which is just starting out. I am the only keeper at the moment with an amazing team of volunteers. I oversee the care of the various animals at the zoo and co-ordinate the volunteers in helping me with the animal care. Our volunteers are all animal care students and so I am also involved in their training and education as they strive to get in to the industry. The zoo owner/director does a lot our  enclosure building and maintenance as well as helping with the animals, so everyone is involved in every aspect of building the zoo from scratch.

Did you need any qualifications?

I have a BSc (Hons) Animal Biology and I have also gained the Diploma in Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals.

Any tips for a young person that wants to do what you do?

Never let anyone steer you away from your ambitions. Your dreams are yours and nobody has the right to trample on them. But be realistic about achieving them and what its actually like to work with animals. Simply ‘having a connection’ with animals is not enough. Especially in zookeeping, around 95% of the job is not directly working with the animals. Its about providing the animals with the tools to thrive and that is all done behind the scenes, in ways you cant even begin to imagine. Have a plan of how you want to achieve your goals, but be flexible enough to not be put off by the word ‘no’. Most keepers face a lot of rejection in trying to get started in this career. But being resilient is a great trait to develop and will steer you through a lot of the difficulties that working with animals comes with. And also grab every opportunity that is offered to you. Even if it may not seem to quite fit your plan. You never know what doors will opened to you through seemingly random conversations and paths in life.

What is the best part of what you do?

Knowing Im not only having a positive impact on the animals in my care, but on the conservation of species as a whole.

What is the worst part of what you do?

Of course losing individuals is the absolute worst part. But I also find the days where Ive simply run out of time to do everything I want to for each individual really hard. I want to go home feeling like I put my all into every individual. Unfortunately the reality is things happen and I have to be satisfied with the fact everyone was looked after in terms of being fed, cleaned out and given fresh water. Tomorrow is always another opportunity to do a bit more.

What is your favourite animal?

My absolute favourite animal is the Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix genus).

What was the first animal that you fell in love with?

I had a ginger cat as a child called Kevin. He was my first love!

What is your favourite place in nature?

My favourite place in nature is anywhere near the sea – odd since Ive spent only a short period of time working with marine creatures during my 20+ years career!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I explore with my rescue dog Bucky! Or I cuddle up with my cats on the couch watching movies.

If you were not doing what you do now what else would you love to do?

I am a real history nut, love exploring castles. So I would probably do something along those lines.

Who inspires you?

The people around me inspire me. Friends, family, colleagues, volunteers. Everyone is just out there doing their best in what can be a really harsh world. That is inspiring to me.

What are your hopes for the future?

My ultimate hope for the future is that zoos will not be needed. But my more realistic hope is that I can continue to just do what Im doing and hopefully help the younger generation to take up the reigns when I am too old and broken to continue!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?

Although my passion is primates, one of my favourite job roles was as part of the Saving Wildcats team (https://savingwildcats.org.uk). I was a part of the keeper team who bred wildcats for the release project to boost the numbers in the wild. In 2023 we released the first group of 19 cats in to the Cairngorms in the highlands of Scotland. Some of these have this year had kittens themselves out there in the wild! Im massively proud to have been a small part of that achievement.

Its also a great example of zookeeping in an entirely different scenario. Those breeding cats, although housed in a facility within a zoo, were not on display to the public and the husbandry was very hands off. Very different to any other typical zoo husbandry I had experienced before.

Where can people find you?

I keep my own social media private, but please look up Fife Zoo on facebook for where I currently work. Also make sure to visit the Saving Wildcats website mentioned above. And when I worked in primate rescue it was at https://monkeyworld.org The team there rehabilitate primates from some the worst situations you can ever imagine. And they are highly successful at it.