Ken's Favorite Animal
Ken Ramirez, senior vice president of animal collections and training at Shedd answers the question: "What's your favorite animal?"
I am not sure that I have a “single” favorite animal. When you have worked in the zoological field for as long as I have and worked with so many different animals you develop a vast array of favorites depending on what you are doing and the specific question asked. Let me give you a few examples:
When I go to an aquarium, what exhibit or area do I tend to spend the most time at myself? Jellies. They are beautiful animals and I wish we had more of them at Shedd. I find them endlessly fascinating.
What area currently at Shedd would I concentrate spending money on if I had unlimited supplies of money? Freshwater fishes and animals of the Great Lakes. There are so many important local messages in that area and I would love to see it expanded in the future.
As a trainer, if I was told I could only train one species of animal for the rest of my life, which one species would I pick? Sea lions. They are versatile and I have worked with them since the start of my professional career.
If I was going to do a play session with an animal just for fun, what species would I pick? Beluga whales. They seem to love interactions with people and they could care less if you have food–-they like play for the social interaction and that makes it so much fun and special.
I could go on and on. Different questions provide different answers to the favorite animal question. That’s the beauty of my job, I don’t have to choose, I love them all!
What's your favorite animal?
Posted by Ken Ramirez, animal collections and training
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