Kelsey Forbes sends a lot of emails. A few times a day, though, she’s able to sneak out of her office to meet with “clients.” Sometimes, she’ll paint lines of blood on the ground to lead those clients to an afternoon snack. Other times, she’s rushing down the cobbled roads of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium pretending a dangerous animal — one of her clients — has escaped its enclosure.Forbes is the zoo’s curator of mammals. Put simply, she ensures the animals and people who take care of them are safe and happy. That means providing animals with enrichment and conducting drills — such as the “pretend” animal escape — during the park’s regular operating hours. That way staffers, and patrons, are as prepared as possible.“We had one drill where people got into it,” Forbes says. “We were doing a first aid drill, and they were like, ‘Oh, we can scream in the background if that helps!’ We were like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I think they’re excited to know that we care just as much about their safety as they do.”Forbes joined the Pittsburgh Zoo in April 2023, two months before it began a process to re-obtain accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which it hasn’t held since 2015 after parting ways with the organization.The zoo announced it had received AZA’s mark — the “gold standard” in the field, according to Forbes — in late September. Now, an education complex, updated animal care measures and a new master plan are all building toward a bold new future.Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Photo by Alexis Wary.“One of the biggest things that I know I’m most excited about being back in an AZA facility is … we have a seat at the table again,” Forbes says. “I don’t think we ever lost our seat at the table — we were still leaders in the animal care field — but … we can now really promote excellence and be those leaders.”The process examines all aspects of the zoo — its finances, the quality of care for animals, guest experience and beyond — and ensures it aligns with AZA’s 12 core evaluation areas, which also include conservation and scientific advancement measures and zoo governance.“Nothing is off the table,” Forbes says. “They talk to every level of employee … and they talk about what the work culture is like. Do they feel listened to, and do they feel heard? Do you feel like you’re getting paid enough?”The Pittsburgh Zoo joins 250 other accredited facilities across the globe. Forbes says AZA institutions account for less than 10% of all the zoos — including petting zoos, drive-thru safaris and others licensed by U.S. Department of Agriculture.As the curator of mammals, Forbes develops plans for the day-to-day care of animals and their environments, which — alongside related processes — is called “husbandry.”“One of the big things that I’m proud of that we did is we really focused our enrichment and training program — and that’s still a work in progress,” Forbes says. “So, bringing new ideas for enrichment, making sure that every animal is getting enrichment throughout the day and really challenging the keepers to think about what enrichment actually is.”Forbes says that process initially manifested as a lot of building work, painting and fulfilling work orders.Previously, the zoo would create a calendar that would indicate when to introduce an animal to a new food, toy or habitat — a process Forbes calls “item-based enrichment.” Now, as it moves toward “gold standard,” Forbes and her staff study an animal’s natural behavior and construct goals they want to see animals achieve. This is “goal-based” enrichment.“Looking at a lion, for instance, … a lion likes to hunt, so we could very easily set up a scent trail with some of the blood from their diet, and have them essentially hunt for their bone,” Forbes says. “So it’s taking a look at the animals as a whole — as what they would do in the wild — and then bringing that over here.”At a zoo, health and safety stretches beyond enclosures. AZA requires zoos to do at least four drills a year that simulate fires, local weather emergencies, injury to guests or staff and animal escape. Forbes says the Pittsburgh Zoo usually runs two drills a month.The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s current entry area. A renovation of the entrance is the first construction item in the zoo’s new master plan. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.“We really believe in being over-prepared, because once it becomes muscle memory, it takes all the jitters out of it,” Forbes says.Whether rescuing a downed diver or a patron who got into an exhibit, the drills ensure that the zoo is equipped with the tools necessary for any scenario.To maintain authenticity, drills are almost never announced and many occur during operating hours so staff can practice with patrons present. Forbes says that most visitors are usually excited by a bit of commotion or a branded golf cart speeding past, but visitor services staff is usually near the drill location to explain what’s happening to concerned visitors.“They get really creative and pretty out there sometimes, and they actually can turn into a lot of fun because it’s the time we are allowed to make mistakes safely [and] it opens great conversation.”Moving into the futureIn mid-October, a separate announcement ticked another AZA evaluation box: The Pittsburgh Zoo revealed its master plan for the next two decades.Its first phase, which will take place over the next five to seven years, includes a renovated and more accessible front entrance, new construction for the giraffe and orangutan exhibits and a new education complex.The release announcing the developments states that the zoo’s conservation education program reached nearly 1 million guests in 2023. Its new education complex seeks to increase that number even more with additional classrooms and a “licensed, full-time preschool.”The zoo has plans for a giraffe barn and expanded yard as part of its new master plan. The space will offer year-round viewing opportunities and allow for a potential increase in the size of the herd. Image courtesy of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.Forbes says education programming as a whole — not just geared toward children — is on the rise.“We started a lot of … adult day classes,” Forbes says. “We have a very robust teen volunteer program, and we’re hoping to get more.“It’s really heartwarming to see how much the community and our volunteer groups care about our zoo.”The reinstating of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium’s AZA accreditation brings to a close a nearly 10-year disagreement in care practices.According to animal advocacy organization Humane Action Pittsburgh, the zoo forfeited its accreditation in 2015 following a disagreement in elephant care practices. It subsequently gained accreditation from the Zoological Association of America (ZAA), which Humane Action Pittsburgh argued was a deceptively similar-sounding organization with much less professional acumen.Forbes wasn’t employed by the Pittsburgh Zoo at the time, but says the disagreement came from an early 2010s shift from “free contact” care to “protected contact” for elephant care. The growing trend of protected contact removed the handler’s direct access to the animals and had them work through some type of barrier. Forbes says this was standard practice in many other zoos by 2012 or 2013. Still, the Pittsburgh elephant manager at the time wanted to maintain free contact.The switch to protected contact came to prevent harm to caretakers and to reflect new understandings of how socially and intellectually advanced elephants are as a species.“The care for them is, I don’t want to say it’s different, but it’s a lot more robust than others,” Forbes says. “For me personally, I think it’s where a lot of other species are going to is to have that same level of animal care that elephants receive. I know that [for] a lot of primates, we’re looking toward that. Same thing with big cats.”Humane Action Pittsburgh had been advocating for the zoo to reacquire AZA accreditation for years. Executive Director Natalie Ahwesh wrote in an email to NEXTpittsburgh that the organization is pleased to see its status restored.“This step signifies a commitment to higher animal welfare standards and an essential step toward the more ethical treatment of animals in captivity,” Ahwesh writes. “We’re encouraged to see the zoo’s efforts in this area and are optimistic about the potential improvements outlined in their new master plan. However, we remain dedicated to monitoring their practices to maintain these standards and ensure that animal welfare remains a priority.”The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has already begun changing; a temporary entryway has been installed while renovations are made. The zoo expects its new front gates will open for the first time next summer, with the rest of the phase one changes to come later this decade. The post How the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium reached ‘gold standard’ status appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.