Our people: Working with animals

Stephanie Chavez has degrees in public health and wildlife and conservation preservation, but she has made a career out working with animals in zoos.

The El Paso native has been curator for the Hillcrest Park Zoo for a month after working with zoos in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas.

As curator, she said, she's in charge of caring for the animals, with the help of a crew of seven full-time zookeepers.

With family members living in Clovis, however, she did not arrive here without some connection.

The News had a talk with Chavez on Thursday. Here are our questions and her responses.

Q. How long have you been doing zoo work?

A. For quite a few years. I was the primary bird keeper at the San Antonio Zoo for about five years. Then I returned to El Paso's zoo to be in charge of mammals and reptiles. I did that for two years. Then I took a job as supervisor of animal services for the city of El Paso. That was mostly cats and dogs. I wanted to return to zoo work. I missed my exotic (animals).

Q. What made you decide to come to Clovis?

A. Being a curator was the next step in my career path. Clovis had that opportunity, so I decided to take the plunge.

Q. What does the curator do?

A. The curator is in charge of the care of all the animals.

Q. How did you decide to get into zoo work?

A. My family told me I was very good with animals. I got a job with a zoo and fell in love with the animals. It was a whole new world.

Q. Can zoo work be dangerous?

A. Yes it can, but with proper training and education, you can eliminate the hazards, and you can get the proper information through research.

Q. What about the tiger in the Clovis zoo?

A. We never, ever go into the cage with him.

Q. Do you work more with animals or people?

A. I work with the animals, but I also work well with my team. We have a staff of seven full-time zoo keepers.

Q. Do you have a favorite zoo animal?

A. Yes. It's the black palm cockatoo. We don't have one here, but I'd like to get one. I also want to bring in flamingos.

Q. Don't they require a warm climate?

A. We could keep a barn for them, and that's where they'd spend the winter.

Q. I heard about plans to bring a "Little Australia" to the Clovis zoo. How is that coming along?

A. We just got two baby wallabies. One is a female that is six months old. The other is a male that's about nine months old. They spend a lot of time in pouches. In the wild, they'd stay in their mother's pouch for about a year.

Q. Do they have names?

A. Not yet, but we're planning some competition to name them.

Q. How do you like Clovis so far?

A. I love it. It's very homey, and the people are very friendly. El Paso had the freeways and city life, and some good food, but I've found some good food in Clovis, too.

Q. You said you have some family in Clovis.

A. Yes I have a grandmother and an aunt and uncle here. The rest of my family is in El Paso.

Q. What is your educational background?

A. I have a bachelor's degree in public health from the University of Texas, San Antonio, and a master's in wildlife and conservation management from Unity College in Maine. The master's was all online.

Q. What do you do when you're not curating the zoo?

A. I like to dance, especially salsa dancing, and I play guitar.

Q. Do you play salsa music on the guitar?

A. No mostly rock guitar stuff. I recently spent a week in Long Island, New York, at a learning event with some really great guitar players like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson. They even autographed my guitar. It was so awesome.

And I also sing.

Q. And what about when you're not doing music?

A. I like to read and watch reruns of "Friends." That's my favorite television show.