I'm Brianne Warthman, a Senior Educator at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and one of the aspects of my job that I cherish the most is my role as a Zoo tour guide!
These tours and experiences at the Columbus Zoo play a vital role in bringing guests closer to incredible wildlife and fostering meaningful connections with the animals. I feel fortunate to be able to facilitate these experiences, and I'd like to offer you a glimpse into what it's like to take our guests on a journey behind the scenes of animal conservation efforts from my unique point of view. Follow along as I lead three tours at the Columbus Zoo!
Elephant Bath Experience
When I arrive for the day, I receive my list of four guests for this tour (these tours are kept small and intimate by design) and see that two are from Ohio, and two are all the way from Michigan. When I go out to greet the guests, I learn that the guests from Michigan are visiting the Zoo for their first time - what a way to start their visit! One of them has loved elephants their entire life and even had an elephant tattoo. The guests from Ohio have done several Zoo experiences and are excited to add this one to their list.
After we go over some quick rules, we enter the building and walk to the tour space where they first get to lay eyes one of our resident elephants, Hank. The guests are in awe of his size and how close they safely get to be to him. I give them a moment to take it all in as we watch the two Animal Care team members start to get Hank ready for his bath.
After a moment, they start asking questions and I get to share all sorts of great info. The guests learn about the importance of skin health in elephants and how the bath gives the keepers an opportunity to see the skin up close. We talk about the treats that Hank is getting and how Hank (like most elephants) is very food motivated.
As the guests ask questions about the obvious relationship that the keepers have with the elephants, we notice another elephant peek her head out of the next stall...Connie is spending the day with Hank and is eating some hay while she waits for him to finish his bath. I tell the guests about the dynamics of the relationships of our seven elephants and how enriching it is for them to interact with different elephants. Enrichment for elephants comes in many forms, and variety in their day is a great way to stimulate them mentally.
It’s finally time for the guests to get to scrub Hank! They listen for instructions from one of the keepers, and go in groups of two to scrub as high as they can get and try to get as much dirt and mud off as possible. Watching the keepers rinse the dirt away afterward is always a satisfying job to see. We continue on with the bath, and while each guest is interacting with Hank, I stand back with the other guests and answer questions. We talk about everything from our two year-old elephant Frankie to taking care of an elephant’s feet to how elephants sleep.
After we are all done with the bath and each group of guests gets their photo taken with a freshly-cleaned Hank, we step outside and spend about ten minutes talking with one of the keepers. The guests always have questions, and I love learning from our knowledgeable keeper team, too. The keeper talks about the process of training an elephant and the importance of relationship building with each elephant. We talk about the research that the Columbus Zoo does on Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) , including how the elephants are trained for blood draws and trunk saline washes to give samples for testing each week.
After finishing up questions, we say goodbye to the elephant keeper and I walk the guests back out to the public pathway. They are so excited to walk over to the elephant outdoor viewing area, where they will get to see Hank and Connie outside enjoying some sunshine! I point them in the right direction and go get ready for my next tour - the Animal Wellness Experience.
Book an Elephant Bath Book a Playdate with Frankie
Animal Wellness Experience
Today on the Animal Wellness Experience, I have two guests, and they’ve come all the way from South Carolina. When I meet them, I’m not surprised to learn that they have watched a popular TV show that featured the Columbus Zoo, and they’re visiting for the first time hoping to see some staff from the show they’ve watched. When we enter the Animal Health Center, they are so excited just to be in the building. They are wonderful guests full of questions, and they are constantly on the lookout for a sighting of one of the vet staff.
We stop at the labs first and then the surgery suite. There are no procedures going on in either space, but I show them some photos of a couple of different surgery procedures so they can see the room in use. The hallway is filled with a variety of photos of procedures, surgeries, and training behaviors. The guests can see that the Animal Care team works on training with the animals so that they can voluntarily participate in their care.
As we walk around the corner to the large treatment room, we see that the doors are closed and a procedure is happening! I tell the guests that we rarely get to see procedures and when it happens we can stand at the windows and watch as long as we would like. We learn that several turtles are visiting the Animal Health Center for an annual check-up, and the guests get to see a turtle get an x-ray and bloodwork. These guests were particularly excited to see a couple of the keepers and vet staff that they recognized from the show.
After observing for a few more minutes, we keep moving down the hallway to see the ICU rooms and some of the large and small animal rooms. There are three new skunks that have just arrived at the Zoo and they are going through their quarantine period in one of the small animal suites. The guests get to peek in through the window and we all agree that they are adorable.
We finish up in the Animal Health Center and walk over to the Wild Encounters Outreach building to meet one of their animal ambassadors. The Outreach team introduces the guests to the adorable swift fox, Sophie, who demonstrates her scale training behavior. The guests get to see her step on the scale while the Outreach team documents her weight. The guests are thrilled when they are offered the chance to feed Sophie one of her favorite treats - craisins! We finish up with Sophie (after taking lots of pictures) and I walk them back to Heart of Africa so they can continue their day. Their next stop is Giraffe Feeding, and they’re hoping to see Roary the lion on their way. I get a short break for lunch before I greet my guests for the Reindeer Experience!
Book an Animal Wellness Experience
Reindeer Experience
My last tour for the day is the Reindeer Experience, and our guests are a family of three… including their 5 year old animal lover! The keeper walks us into the barn and into one of the stalls. They open the barn door and the two reindeer are right on the other side ready to step up to the rope barrier and meet the guests! Sugarplum is always the first to arrive, and Abby hangs out closely behind her.
Typically during a Reindeer Experience, the guests get to take turns touching the fur and sometimes even touching the antlers. Today, the guests are in luck. Sugarplum is happily munching on one of our reindeer’s favorite snacks - beet pulp – and, since she is occupied, the keeper is able to allow the guests to hand-feed Abby. We let them know that this doesn’t usually happen, and I take lots of photos for them to capture the moment so they can focus on the fun.
The five year old has lots of questions about reindeer and especially wants to know if they really like carrots (I think there’s some Christmas Eve planning going on here). The keeper lets her know that reindeer do like carrots as a snack and that’s a great option (especially since beet pulp is not a common grocery store find). The family learns about the reindeers’ relatives that are endangered - a subspecies of caribou called the southern mountain caribou. They also learn about training, taking care of a reindeer’s hooves and what happens to the antlers when they fall off each year.
After Abby and Sugarplum have had their fill of beet pulp and the keeper has answered many reindeer questions, we walk the guests out of the barn. We point the guests in the direction of our polar bears and thank them for meeting the reindeer with us. My day as a tour guide is over, but there will be several more tours that I lead later this week including another guest favorite - the Red Panda Experience!
Tours Connect Us.
Meeting new people on tours and sharing the Columbus Zoo with them is one of the best parts of my job. Most of the time, I don’t know the guests who come on the tour, and I get to meet people who have come from all over the country to see our zoo. Not too long ago, two of my friends were registered to come on the Elephant Bath Experience and I was able to be their tour guide. Normally I don’t take photos of myself when I’m leading a tour, but on this day we took a fun selfie to remember the experience!
Sign up for a tour with us today and maybe I’ll be your tour guide! I’d love to share our wonderful Columbus Zoo and Aquarium with you.
