MEMPHIS, TN (localmemphis.com) - How would you like to come face to face with a giraffe? How about a 700-pound sea lion?
Next week you can. It is part of National Zookeeper Week at the Memphis Zoo.
“A sea lion can actually swallow this whole,” zookeeper Karen Warda said.
Next Sunday, you will be able to enter the world of zookeeper Karen Warda.
"In here we have our walk in freezer along with our walk in refrigerator where we store all of our fish,” said Warda. “This is about three weeks worth of fish here. Our male actually eats about 30 pounds of fish a day."
Andre is a 19-year-old sea lion. 30 pounds of fish a day has him tipping the scales at about 700 pounds.
"Females on the other hand, you can tell there's a nice big size difference. Females only weigh about 200 pounds," said Warda.
Sunday, your time will get extended and split between giraffe's and five sea lions.
"We’ll be telling you all about our fish, how we take care of these guys. You might even get to ask a sea lion for a few behaviors."
Karen said Andre is in semi-retirement and only spends a couple hours in the public eye each day. He knows about 70 behaviors. This weekend, some of the money you spend to see him will go back to his pals in the wild.
"We raise money to pretty much help wild animals. We'll send money to Africa, ee will do some stuff local like Wolf River Conservancy," Warda said.
Tickets can be purchased by clicking here or calling (901) 333-6509.