Description:
Dean Rakestraw talks about his career at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Transcript:
Oklahoma Voices
Interviewee: Carl Dean Rakestraw
Interviewer: Amy Dee Stephens
AS: This is Amy Stephens we are at the Oklahoma City Zoo today on September 16, 2009. Interviewing a long time employee named Carl Dean Rakestraw. He goes by Dean. Dean, can you tell us where you were born and what your age is?
DR: I was born in Oklahoma City here and I’m 55 right now.
AS: So you have lived here your whole life?
DR: Uh pretty much except for a few months up in Colorado.
AS: Ok, huh. Ok well how or why did you get your job here at the zoo?
DR: Well I was in construction for about 12 years and we kind of went into a lull in the mid 80’s here in Oklahoma and that’s why I moved to Colorado for several months because I got an offer to build some condos up there. When I came back the market still hadn’t opened up for housing so I heard that there was an opening at the zoo and I went and applied.
AS: So you didn’t have to have a zoology degree back then like we do now?
DR: No we didn’t have to no in fact I think what they were looking for is they had an opening for giraffe area and the antelope area and they were looking for someone that had some kind of construction background because there was a lot of barns and stuff in need of some renovation. And plus I had worked at a nursery for several years too. They wanted somebody to come in all the pins. When I first started they were all mud and dirt and they wanted to try and get grass growing in them and stuff.
AS: So what position are you in now and has that always been your position?
DR: Uh pretty much yeah.
AS: Wow. So you are an antelope keeper?
DR: Yeah I have been an antelope keeper the whole time and I guess after 5 years after I had been here they had me go to other areas in case they needed a back up so I worked in pachyderm and cat forest and giraffe areas.
AS: So how have you seen the job change since you started?
DR: Uh well the number of animals has dwindled to pretty low we used to have big herds when I started here. Like wildebeest when I first stated there was like 23 of them. Gemsbok 12 um waterbuck like 16 and anymore any of our species are down to like 2-4 and that’s about it.
AS: Why?
DR: Uh I guess uh for it’s taking up space I guess and that’s about the only thing I can think of.
AS: So are you doing as much construction as u were, originally?
DR: No doing more animal uh let’s see animal experience and stuff and uh I can’t think of the word for it.
AS: Like husbandry that type of thing?
DR: Yeah uh huh husbandry uh huh.
AS: So describe a typical day today 2009.
DR: Uh well first thing we do a head check on our animal collection and at the same time if we feed them in the morning we feed them and start getting on the cleaning. And then after that uh we’ll go back and if like the uh today we’re going to have to get a barn ready because we are going to be having an animal moved from the giraffe area to our area. So we’ll have to get it set up and get the yard ready and we’ll have to go out and burlap the fence before we put this new animal out there.
AS: So how is that different from when you started? Now how long have you worked here?
DR: 22 years
AS: Ok. So is it pretty much the same then?
DR: No because back when I started all we did was basically feed because we had so many animals so that kept us busy the whole day.
AS: Ok, alright. What is your absolute favorite thing to do here at the zoo?
DR: Uh feeding the animals is probably right up there at the top but I also a lot of people don’t like this but I like when we have to grab animals for medical procedures and stuff like that.
AS: Why?
DR: Because it can be pretty dangerous you can get hurt and it’s a thrill to me.
AS: Oh I just learned something about you.
DR: And there’s not many people that like it.
AS: Well speaking of that have safety measures changed since you first started?
DR: Oh yes quite a bit yeah uh back when I started it was all hands on and we had a lot of dangerous animals back when I started uh we didn’t have safety areas where we could go and open up gates to ship them to we had to go in with the animals itself so I had to learn to be a pretty good fence climber or tree climber or whatever it took to get away from the animal.
AS: Did you ever have a close call?
DR: Oh several.
AS: Can you share those?
DR: Well with our white tailed gnu I went into the pen to get a plastic bag out of the tree and he had never bothered any of the keepers before but he came charging down on me and so the only thing I could do was grab his horns and he started pushing me across the pen, it was a gravel pen, so I just locked my legs and was sliding kind of like I was on ice. I got close to a barn near a feeder and I let go of him and jumped up in it and he kind of backed off and I was able to climb out of the pen.
AS: Man risky job.
DR: Risky job yeah it’s pretty dangerous.
AS: Uh what is a fellow employee that has had a big affect on you?
DR: Uh that would be Ralph Harris.
AS: Why?
DR: Uh well he was my mentor here I guess you could say and he taught me everything I knew.
AS: And he’s gone now?
DR: Yeah he passed away a couple years back.
AS: Is there anybody else that really…
DR: I’d say Joe Lemon we became real close friends he’s retired after 25 years here now and he works at a feed store now and he is one of the nicest individuals I’ve ever met he’d do anything for all you would have to is ask him.
AS: So is there an event that has happened at the zoo in your 22 years that just really affected you somehow? Just really stood out in your mind.
DR: Um not really no.
AS: Ok.
DR: I would have to say no.
AS: What’s the biggest change you have seen since you have started?
DR: Uh the animal collections like I said earlier. The herds have been cut down in my area.
AS: And uh what’s the biggest change that you would like to see?
DR: Uh more animals come back.
AS: Yeah I bet you miss that.
DR: Uh huh yeah I miss that.
AS: What do you think that visitors see differently when they walk through your area?
DR: What they see differently from?
AS: Uh huh from when you started.
DR: Well going to a lot of other zoos and stuff I have had people tell me plus from the visitor they say the pens look very nice uh they have grassy areas rather than black top or mud or dirt and even other zoos have complimented the Oklahoma City Zoo on their hoof stock areas so I’d have to say that’s what they get from that experience.
AS: Now…
DR: Nice habitats for the animals.
AS: Ok, I’ve read that our zoo used to be known for it’s hoof stock collection.
DR: Correct uh huh.
AS: That’s changed too right?
DR: Yeah we were having so many hoof stock babies a year it was hard to believe.
AS: Why has that changed?
DR: Because we have cut down on our numbers here and I guess we are going to smaller herd groups.
AS: And I’ve wondered too is it a management decision?
DR: Yes uh huh’
AS: Ok, and who was your manager when you started?
DR: Uh Jack Grisham.
AS: Ok, alright. Um do you have a story that you thought was funny something that you share with your friends and your family members?
DR: Uh well they weren’t funny at the time that they were happening…..
AS: Oh that kind of story.
DR: Yeah uh huh. I was working the bears one day I uh we had to lock them in and we had to go in and clean the exhibit up and put their food out and let them back out and after I had done all that and let them back out Delila which was one of our grizzly bears back then she had a hose nozzle in her mouth that I had left in the exhibit and I thought well I need to get that out of there so she doesn’t swallow it show she played with it for a little while and then she had dropped it in the bottom of the moat there those were down in the old grottos down by the lake here so I went and got a net to scoop it up out of the moat because they are hard to get, grizzly bears were hard to shift in and out except for one time in the morning and they were hard to get back in so I got a net thinking that I could scoop it up out of the moat then so I got there and went to scoop it and then she grabbed a hold of the net. So it was a tug of war between me and the grizzly bear for the net now and naturally she won so.
AS: So then she had both.
DR: Yeah the net and a hose nozzle correct. And the public that was all around was cheering for the bear mostly. It was pretty comical to them so.
AS: Pretty stressful to you though.
DR: Uh yeah stressful to me very stressful to me.
AS: Did you get in trouble for that or is it something that just happened?
DR: No.
AS: So when were you able to get the net back?
DR: Oh yeah we got it back I was able to get the bears back in their back holding area.
AS: Now how would you do that how would you shift a bear?
DR: Uh usually they like honey and peanut butter and stuff like that.
AS: Ok. So like food bribes.
DR: Yeah food uh huh.
AS: Did you ever have any interaction with either Judy the elephant, Matilda the hippo, or Carmichael the polar bear?
DR: Uh I worked with Judy the elephant for a while and it was hands on where we went in and had her stand up and stuff like that, and then I worked with Matilda too and actually I liked her uh the other hippo that was there named Norman and you had to stay away from him because he would try to back up to you and defecate and flip his tail and it would splatter all over the place and he knew exactly what he was doing. Now like on Matilda I knew that they wrote a song about her way back I guess before I was even old enough to know.
AS: 1953.
DR: That’s when I was born. So like Judy she was just like a little kid all the time.
AS: So did you like have formal training to work with them or just kind of make it up as you go?
DR: Like about 2 or 3 days and then they turned me loose on them. That’s the way it was a long time ago.
AS: Well did you ever feel like you were in danger?
DR: All the time.
AS: So I guess you just have to be very aware.
DR: Yeah be real aware.
AS: Read the signs.
DR: Yeah and also I have learned that an animal can tell if you are scared of them or not so they will try to put a bluff in on you. So if you can’t show that you are scared you are better off with that animal, being able to work around him.
AS: Why do you think the public liked Judy so much?
DR: Uh well uh school kids pitched in and paid for her to come here I believe and that’s why she was a big hit with the media and stuff. Actually my wife could probably tell you more about that because when she worked at the zoo she used to ride Judy and Tancy.
AS: Your wife worked here?
DR: Yeah for a couple years.
AS: And what did she do?
DR: Uh she worked with the pachyderms and the children’s zoo.
AS: Huh. And what’s her name?
DR: Uh back then it was Julie Concannon.
AS: So you all met at the zoo.
DR: Uh huh.
AS: Well there’s a story’
DR: Yeah. But we didn’t get married until after she had quit and went into the medical field.
qAS: And now you have grandchildren.
DR: And now we have grandchildren uh huh.
AS: Well that’s neat. So what have you done during your zoo work here that that you would say had made history, something that that no one else had done or something you were just really good at.
DR: I would say that our breeding programs on a lot of our animals uh has probably had more than any other zoo has had with hoof stock.
AS: What do you think you did that made that so successful?
DR: Uh I uh probably I guess just taking care of the animals on a day to day basis and you need to know what kind of temperament the animals have while you are around them and stuff and what their needs are and if you meet their needs then they are usually ok with that.
AS: So are you one of these people with an animal sense?
DR: Uh I would like to think so because I have had a lot of close calls so.
AS: And yet you didn’t intend to go into this career, interesting.
DR: No I never did huh uh.
AS: What did you see yourself doing?
DR: Uh construction most of the time. Yeah in fact after the first few days I started here the vet came over and they wanted to anesthetize an Arabian oryx and so it was me and another keeper Mike Orangebrock and we were out there and the vet uh see back then they started experimenting with new uh drugs to anesthetize the animals with and this was carfentanil so they didn’t know quite what percentage of drug to use to bring the animal down to where we could work with it a lot of times we had animals act like they were anesthetized pretty good and we would go to grab them and they would jump up and start kicking and uh just letting everything just break loose. So we were out there and we were supposed to grab this Arabian oryx by the horns when he runs by but when he runs by at 30 miles an hour I thought what did I get myself into in here. And naturally I began to love it I guess.
AS: That’s neat. Well so what are plans right now that your department is moving toward, breeding plans or new ideas?
DR: Uh nothing right now because part of the area is being going to uh the new elephant exhibit they are building.
AS: Oh, so how is that going to change your job?
DR: Uh it’s putting me with other animals that I haven’t been around.
AS: Huh.
DR: Well right now basically right now we still have bison and white tailed deer uh sable and geranook which is hoof stock and now I am in with bats and nocturnal animals now also on top of that.
AS: How do you feel about that?
DR: Oh it doesn’t bother me any.
AS: Do you like trying new animals or would you rather stick with your comfort zone?
DR: Uh well I know more about hoof stock but I will try new animals.
AS: What’s been the neatest species you have worked with?
DR: The neatest I would have to say hoof stock.
AS: Any certain ones that you just love?
DR: Well I had some favorites with uh bongo, gemsbock, and geranook.
AS: Do you ever get to travel? Didn’t they used to do more animal capture in the early days?
DR: Uh yes they did uh huh.
AS: Were you ever a part of any of that?
DR: No I never was.
AS: Ok.
DR: I was part of going and delivering our animals to other zoos and stuff like that.
AS: And how do you do that?
DR: You load them up on a trailer and haul them off.
AS: Are they anesthetized?
DR: Uh, usually not no.
AS: Wow. So how do you get them in the trailer?
DR: Well it would take you sometimes you would have to go in the barn with them and throw a lasso on them and pull them on.
AS: You have a very physical job.
DR: Well it’s not that physical anymore.
AS: Because of protected contacts?
DR: Yeah that and plus there we are doing uh animal conditioning and enrichment to where we can usually get the animals to do what we can do easier and they are more comfortable with it too.
AS: What’s an example of animal training that you have done?
DR: Uh basically like getting animals to go in crates or on trailers or come into barns off of exhibits so we can go in and clean and stuff like that.
AS: What are the steps that you go through to get them to that point?
DR: Uh well now I haven’t taken this training deal but we used to just start out with uh more or less just their favorite treats and stuff to get them to do what we need for them to do.
AS: And just over time move them in the direction that you need them to go?
DR: Correct uh huh.
AS: Ok. Well since you have been here so long what keeps you interested and motivated in this career?
DR: Well I don’t know it’s uh I think part partly my dad because he worked for the nursery for 38 years and I think if he can do 38 then I ought to be able to do 25 at the zoo.
AS: So that’s your plan?
DR: Yes uh huh.
AS: So you get to retire in 3 years?
DR: Uh huh unless I change my mind.
AS: Yeah and what are you going to do then?
DR: I don’t know I have no idea.
AS: Do you have any big hobbies that you do?
DR: Uh no huh uh
AS: Well you may have to stay here then.
DR: I might.
AS: We wouldn’t mind. So let’s say that you retire how do you want to be remembered by the zoo?
DR: Uh that I always pitched in that I was always helpful with my crew and stuff. Especially when I started you had to always trust the person behind you to help you out when you needed them because we were always in dangerous situations.
AS: Well I am kind of winding down to the end of the questions, is there anything that you want to tell the world about your job?
DR: Uh it’s not a very glamorous job and uh it’s pretty rough on the body or at least it is in my area.
AS: Have you had a lot of health problems come out of this job?
DR: I have had a lot of injuries.
AS: Really?
DR: Yeah.
AS: Like animals attacking you?
DR: Oh yes uh huh. I have been kicked and bit and stabbed and all sorts of stuff.
AS: Wow. Was that mainly in your early years or is that still happening?
DR: Uh I had a geranook about take my finger off. I guess it’s been about 4 years ago. And we had to go in and grab her we couldn’t anesthetize her because she was giving birth at the time and still had the baby hanging out of her so we had to go grab her and pull the baby out. So if we gave her drugs to knock her down then that would affect the baby.
AS: Wow. So you just did what you had to do.
DR: Yeah and they have sharp hooves so.
AS: Anything else that you want to add?
DR: Uh no I don’t believe so.
AS: Alright well thank you so much and I know that this will be valuable to the future and suspect zoo keeping will continue to change.
DR: Oh it has changed.
AS: So it’s nice to have a record of what it used to be like.
DR: Yeah it has changed.
AS: Alright, thank you.
DR: Yeah in fact when I started here they were using horse tranquilizers as sedatives for the hoof stock area.
AS: Is that…
DR: PCP.
AS: Oh.
DR: And so half the times you didn’t know whether that worked or not. It didn’t work real good.
AS: Wow. And pretty strong too right? I mean……
DR: Well these animals they are real strong so some of them it worked on some of them it didn’t.
AS: Ok. Now have you ever been a part of an animal escape?
DR: Uh oh yes uh huh. You mean animals getting out?
AS: Yes.
DR: Yeah we have had some but they have always been contained in our area not they have been escaped out on zoo grounds.
AS: Oh good ok.
DR: Yeah we have had I remember a waterbuck jumping over fences. Actually most hoof stock can jump these fences if they are forced to do so. We have had dogs get on zoo grounds they seem to terrorize the animals and they want to jump out of the pens or either run into trees and do harm to themselves.
AS: Now have you always had pretty much the same 8 to 5 hours? Has that ever changed? Did you all ever do night hours?
DR: Uh no we have had to come in on different hours to like uh bottle feed calves that the mothers didn’t take care of and stuff like that. But yea it has usually been 8 to 5. Or 7 to 4 during the summer.
AS: And the zoo has always been open every day of the week right?
DR: Correct uh huh except for New Years and Christmas when I first started.
AS: Hey you get more now.
DR: Yeah we get more now.
AS: Good. About how many people have worked in your area?
DR: 5
AS: Really?
DR: Yeah uh huh.
AS: Huh. I didn’t realize there was that many.
DR: Yeah when I first started we had probably close to 170 mammals we also had cranes to from Africa that were mixed into our hoof stock areas. And actually cranes I uh had a lot of injuries from. From their beaks and their claws. And like their claws they will take and dig into your skin and they will turn under with a hook and it’s hard to get them back out of your skin and stuff.
AS: You must just have scars all over you.
DR: I do u huh.
AS: Well have you noticed a lot of turnover in your department? Obviously you have been there a long time.
DR: Uh no well just from retirement is the turnover.
AS: So why do you think that your area has such longevity?
DR: I don’t know. It’s one of the hardest uh areas to work in. I can’t really say.
AS: Because it seems like in the other areas there is a lot higher turnover.
DR: There is a lot of turnover uh huh.
AS: Ok, well anything else that you want to add?
DR: Uh I don’t believe so.
AS: Alright.
DR: We better put it to an end right here.
AS: Well thank you very much for your time.
DR: You are welcome.