At eighty-one years young, Iris Brett proved that age is no obstacle at Drusillas Park today, when she fulfilled her life long ambition of working with penguins.
A self confessed animal lover, Iris’ interest in nature and strong desire to look after penguins in particular, dates back over several decades.
Booked as a gift experience by her family, the Hailsham based resident undertook the Keeper for the Day scheme, which allows a member of the public to work alongside the zoo team feeding and cleaning a variety of different animals.
In order to accommodate Iris’ individual circumstances, the full activity schedule was scaled down and concentrated into a half day. However, this did not stop her enjoying plenty of close animal encounters.
Starting with a guided tour of Drusillas with keeper Catherine Steart, Iris took a look behind the scenes at the zoo before throwing a few fish to her favourite feathered friends. She then attended the otter feed talk, met a mouse, chinchilla and cockroach and fed the Park’s ring-tailed lemurs and pigs. The celebrations continued in Explorers Restaurant, where Iris and her family enjoyed lunch and cake, courtesy of the award winning zoo.
Iris commented: “It was a perfect day; a dream come true. The staff were all so friendly and helpful, especially keeper Catherine, who was wonderful and knew so much about the animals.”
ENDS -------------------------------------
For more information please contact:
Claire Peters
Head of Public Relations
Drusillas Park
Tel: 01323 874112 Fax: 01323 874101
Email: claire.peters@drusillas.co.uk
Photo: Iris feeds the penguins with Zoo Keeper Catherine Steart
About Drusillas Park
Drusillas Park in Alfriston, East Sussex is a small zoo where you can get nose to nose with nature. There are over 100 animal species in naturalistic environments including meerkats, penguins, monkeys, otters, bats, snakes and lemurs. For more information visit www.drusillas.co.uk
Directions – Drusillas (postcode BN26 5QS) is situated just off the A27 at Alfriston, approximately 7 miles from Eastbourne and 15 miles from Brighton.