Lory Park Zoo primate keeper enjoys spending time with animals
Siyanda Hleza (24), primate keeper at Lory Park Zoo in President Park, believes discipline is critical in her field of study and ultimately work.
“My day-to-day duties include but are not limited to cleaning, feeding, providing enrichment and making sure all animals are looking good and healthy.”
These were the words of Siyanda Hleza, a determined primate keeper at the President Park-based Lory Park Zoo. Hleza (24) has been a keeper at the zoo for a year and has been in a primate keeper role for about nine months.
She described herself as being a people person who likes to ensure that everyone is happy and constantly laughing at work.
“But the truth is the days are not the same. You could have your day planned, only for you to do the feeding of the animals and about cleaning the cage because there’s normally just a lot happening at the zoo.
“Discipline is very important in this kind of job because as
She added this role tested her leadership skills because the zoo hosted volunteers as well as children doing community service, and they may be placed on primates duty for the day.
Hleza holds a national diploma in game ranch management from the Nelson Mandela University in George, Western Cape. She said initially when she started studying, she had a dream of working in a game reserve but that changed when she did her practicals and fell in love with captive animals.
“I started in 2019 after being on a gap year because I didn’t know where to go study, I just knew I wanted to be far from home. Then in 2021, I started my practicals at the Johannesburg Zoo which ended in 2022. This then gave me the rest of the year to finish writing up my reports which were either going to make me or break me. Luckily everything went well and I graduated this year in April, and I saw myself working nowhere else but in a captive facility.”
Hleza concluded she would love to be in a management position.
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