00:00 [ Music ]
00:14 I remember when I was little, I had found a baby hummingbird,
00:18 and it was just out of the nest, and it couldn't fly or anything yet.
00:21 So what I did was I made like a little box, and I put it up high, and made a little nest,
00:27 and put the little bird in it, because I knew the parents were close by.
00:31 So what happened was the parents came, and they fed the little bird every day,
00:35 and they watched it, and then one day, the little bird flew away, and I was hooked.
00:40 I knew I was going to work with animals.
00:43 [ Music ]
00:48 I think we have to connect with nature.
00:52 When you go to a zoo, think about the animals when you're looking at them.
00:57 What I tend to hear a lot is, "What's that animal doing?
01:04 He's not doing anything.
01:06 Let's keep walking."
01:06 What you want to do is you want to stop and watch that animal for a while,
01:11 because it is doing something.
01:13 It is either hiding, because it's a prey animal, you know,
01:18 and it's thinking of you as a predator.
01:20 So you may not know it, but you are having an effect on that animal.
01:24 Or also, like looking at monkeys.
01:27 A lot of people always laugh, because the primates are mad at you, and they're like,
01:31 "Oh, they're throwing things and stuff at me."
01:33 Well, what you want to do is learn a little bit about animal behavior.
01:37 When you stare at a monkey, you're threatening it.
01:41 You're going like, "Hey, you want to fight?"
01:43 And so what it's probably going to do is like, "Yeah, I'm going to fight."
01:48 So the best way to look at a monkey or a great ape is you look, look away.
01:55 Look, look away.
01:56 And if you look at the animal, it'll do that with you.
01:59 And then what's going to happen is there'll be a connection between the two of you,
02:04 because that animal notices that you are paying attention to him, to his needs.
02:09 So if you see an animal at the zoo or any place, you know, just sit quietly.
02:16 Don't make any noise.
02:18 Just kind of stay there a while, and you'll notice, and that animal will look at you.
02:22 You'll get a nice little connection with it, and then you'll have some interactions with it.
02:27 My name's Yvette Kemp.
02:34 I live in San Diego, California, and I work as a keeper at a zoo in San Diego.
02:40 I think my personal goal would be to make a difference, to be able to say,
02:47 "I helped save, you know, a couple of rhinos.
02:49 I helped to save a habitat.
02:52 I helped to save something," because I think that's what I'm supposed to do.
02:59 If I've loved animals ever since I was little, I think my job, my calling has been
03:07 to do something about it, not just talk about it, but to do something.
03:11 You're so cute.
03:14 You're so cute.
03:15 I know.
03:16 I always knew I was going to work with animals.
03:18 Ever since I was little, probably when I was eight years old, I used to go out in the field.
03:23 I used to catch mice, snakes, lizards, birds, and take care of animals that I found
03:31 that were hurt and have them all in my backyard.
03:33 When I moved to San Diego, I was able to get a job at the...
03:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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