Penguins Are “Dramatic Little Soap Opera Stars”, And 17 Other Surprisingly Wonderful Animals Zookeepers Love Looking After

“I also had an absolute blast breeding maggots for our endangered birds...”

"I've spent three decades working for a big cat rescue.

Their enclosure is huge, so they can run all they want. But if I go in and sit under one of the trees, they'll gather around me, sit close by, lie down and snooze, sometimes purr.

"Penguins were the most entertaining. Birds are just kind of weird in general, but the general public sees penguins as these cute, clumsy animals that have perfect monogamous relationships and take great care of their chicks. Nope. They're dramatic little soap opera stars. They cheat on their partners, steal, and don't really care if they trample over their eggs. Some are good parents; others are totally clueless.

We had one who would only eat fish if you threw them into her mouth like a frisbee, but if it didn't land just right, she'd spit it out and starve. Since they can get dehydrated without food, we sometimes had to stick an IV in the back of their necks and walk around with the bag as they waddled all over the place."

"He said everyone at his job hated cleaning the penguin enclosures because they’re stinky and harass you the whole time. People didn’t like them playing with their gear or diving at them, but my dad LOVED THEM. Everyone would look the other way while he took his sweet time 'cleaning' in there, AKA just straight-up partying with the penguins and getting nothing done before he did any real work.

He also loved the sharks. They were huge but apparently incredibly chill, so he could swim with them and admire them up close with no issues.

They had some rescued manatees there, and he liked those as well, but who doesn’t like manatees?! I’ve never met a single person who doesn’t like them. They’re just big, hungry blobs that sometimes give little snuggles.

If we’re including aquatic animals in this post, I think the manatees win."

"So much personality. They love to be loved and talked to. Terrible manners. Have zero concept of 'no' or 'get back' because, frankly, they'd rather ignore commands they disagree with. They are also thieves and will try to take your tools, and it doesn't matter to them at all if you are actively holding something; they will try and gently take it from your hand.

They have no top front teeth, and it makes them even more goofy-looking. They love to put their face in yours and just breathe, and their breath always smells a little like weed, which is funny.

Needless to say, camels have been my new favourite animal."

"Horses — complete coin toss. Your first impression is their only impression of you; they will love you or hate you for life without years of work to change that. The ones that love you will love you, though.

Goats — absolute idiots, but just cute as hell.

Possums — hilariously stupid as well, but they’re a little more gentle about it."

"In the way of unexpected favourites, I’d go with not a zoo animal at all — dairy cattle are often very sweet, affectionate animals. They have different personalities, make friends, and are much more like dogs than people would expect.

I personally think the answer to 'how fun is caring for this animal' depends hugely on the institution and even the caregiver. I’ve found that, for the most part, animals which are able to engage with their keepers in training and other meaningful activities tend to be much more 'fun' because you can form deep relationships and appreciate their individual personalities. But that can apply to birds, primates, rodents — you name it!"

"Giant Pacific octopuses. They are obviously not warm and cuddly, they don't make cute sounds, but they are inquisitive, generally calm, and not especially dangerous. I worked with four different (full-grown) octopuses over my time there, and they all have their own, unique personalities. They are also fascinating. Their movement, their intelligence, their ability to show mood...

One of the enrichment tools we used is that we gave them treats inside jars, where they had to screw off the lid to get to it. No problem for an octopus, even less so if you didn't get a jar where the threaded lid couldn't be just pried off. We found a jar with reverse threads and thought we had them stumped, but no... about 30 seconds later, they had their nice juicy shrimp treat."

"Maybe chimps, purely by the category of 'more fun than people expect' — because people (unfairly) expect them to just be rampaging death machines and don't give them much grace beyond that. There is sooo much fun involved in their care purely because we spend so much energy on thinking of ways for them to have fun — puzzles, unique toys or exhibit furniture, fun ways to cook or present their food, etc. Also, depending on personality, a lot of chimps are fairly playful and will actively try to engage you in play if you catch them in the right mood, and even the majority of their 'naughty' behaviours are mischievous rather than malicious.

But I also had an absolute blast breeding maggots for our endangered bird programmes, so..

As someone else said, porcs are also a lot of fun; they're half the reason for my username."

"They're as close to a house cat as you get with a big cat. I absolutely loved working with them. They're the largest cat that can purr, and it is intense. After a week, the cats were used to me, and the mountain lions would actively wait for me and get 'excited' to see me. One of the derps wouldn't let me leave unless he got chin scratches. It's easy to forget that they could remove your head from your shoulders with ease."

Additional thumbnail credits: Jami Tarris / Getty Images