Member Profile

Name:
Lindsay Cosmi

Position at the Zoo:
Vet Tech, Animal Care Center

Years at the Phoenix Zoo:
One

Years as a Keeper/Tech:
Six

Favorite animal:
Cheetah

About Lindsay:
I’m not technically a keeper. I’m a Veterinary Technician at the animal hospital with keeper duties every other weekend. I graduated from Colorado Mtn. College in 2005 and worked Animal Emergency for the 3.5 yrs post graduation in Colorado and North Carolina before working for a zoo. I started my zoo career in 2008 at The Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas, where I was the only vet tech and my DVM was only there 1 day a week. What made me want to work with exotic/wild animals? I have always had a love for the big cats with Cheetah’s being my favorite. When I was in tech school I took a wildlife management class where I got to work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. We worked hand in hand to rehab bears, mtn. lions, bobcats, deer, bighorn, mtn. goats it was in that class that I decided I really wanted to work with big cats. I did some volunteer work at Serenity Springs Big Cat Sanctuary in Colorado while trying to get in to the zoo world. In Little Rock I was able to work very closely with all of my animals. I was able to train the jaguars and lions to take hand injections for regular immunizations and immobilization from me with the big cat keeper. During the training sessions I was able to bond with these animals and gain their trust, so they no longer saw me as a threat. When we would go in to do an immobilization my DVM would wait outside the doors so I could give the injection with out getting the animals stressed at the sight of her. I spent all of my free time working with the keepers in every area and their animals gaining as much trust from as many of the animals there as I could. The only thing I couldn’t stand about being at that zoo was that Technician wise I felt stagnant in my position and I needed more. Coming to The Phx Zoo has been a great choice. I stay much busier than I was in Little Rock, but I guess that tends to happen when you have full time Vet staff. Just a little about me; I hope that helps everyone know me better.