Kate Speller

For our readers' issue, we met a zookeeper who works with big cats.

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As a zookeeper, Kate Speller says that her favourite thing about her job is the relationships that she forms with the animals. She is a predator keeper, which means that she works with a range of predators including tigers, lions, cheetahs and wolverines. Although she can’t touch these animals or get hands-on while working with them, there is still a strong connection. She told The Week Junior Science+Nature, “I definitely feel like we have a very mutual respect, so they listen to us and we listen to them.”

Animal lover

Ever since she was little, Speller has always enjoyed spending time with animals. She remembers helping to look after her nan’s pets and giving her tips for caring for them. When she wasn’t caring for animals, she loved watching David Attenborough’s wildlife documentaries. She says, “I’ve always known I wanted to work with animals.”

After some time working on a farm and as a vet care assistant, Speller knew that exotic animals were the ones she was most interested in. Her local zoo growing up was Colchester Zoo, where she was able to do an internship to gain some experience. She then took a college course in animal management before she moved to the predator section at Whipsnade Zoo.