Many kids wish to become a zookeeper when they grow up but Tahrnia Peach is living out her childhood dream and sharing snippets of her idyllic life in adorable videos online.
While she says being a zookeeper ‘isn’t just cuddling animals’ all day, the 26-year-old tells of the rewarding bonds she forms with the zoo’s residents – and how she found love on the job.
‘Some days you literally don’t get a second to stop and it can be very tiring but at the end of the day, the animals make it so worth it,’ Tahrnia told FEMAIL.
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Zookeeper Tahrnia Peach, 26 (pictured) has been melting hearts with her viral videos documenting her job feeding and cuddling adorable zoo animals
While being a zookeeper ‘isn’t just cuddling animals’ all day, the 26-year-old tells of the rewarding bonds she forms with the zoo’s residents – and how she found love on the job
Amassing thousands, sometimes millions, of views on TikTok, Tahrnia, who has been a zookeeper in New South Wales for three years, recently captured her work day as she woke up and up fed the animals.
She has made Rato and Tito the red panda sisters, Dahni the fennec Fox and Skipper, Private and Kawalski the little penguins internet stars through her delightfully cute clips that are melting hearts all over the world.
‘Rato is definitely my spirit animal, she’s super food motivated and often shoves her sister out of the way for the food… she’s also super lazy and sometimes makes you feed her from her bed,’ she said.
Tahrnia has made Rato and Tito the red panda sisters, Dahni the fennec Fox (pictured) and Skipper, Private and Kawalski the penguins internet stars through her delightfully cute clips
‘Dahni the fennec fox is the funniest little animal I’ve ever met. Fennec foxes scream when they’re happy and as soon as he spots you, he starts screaming and wagging his tail with excitement.’
Suri and Annika the meerkats also make guest appearances as does Inti the golden brush tail possum and Sally the Koala.
‘They all have their own personalities and needs, whether it’s a mammal or a reptile or even an insect, and it’s just the best feeling when they start to form those bonds and that trust with you,’ the animal lover said.
A friendship with fellow keeper, Hewin (pictured left) turned to romance and the couple are still going strong despite him moving on to become a keeper at a different zoo
But it’s not just the animals Tahrnia has bonded with during her time as a zookeeper.
A friendship with fellow keeper, Hewin turned to romance and the couple are still going strong despite him moving on to become head mammal and bird keeper at a different zoo.
‘He was actually my boss at one point,’ she said.
‘We’ve also gotten to raise some animals together which has been so much fun and testing at times as well.’
While Tahrnia usually starts by feeding the animals and cleaning their enclosures, she said very day at work can bring something new
Love was an unexpected takeaway from the job but Tahrnia said every day at work can bring something new.
She rises at 5am for a 7:30am shift and usually starts by feeding the animals and cleaning their enclosures then the rest of the day could be filled with guest presentations, mulching yards, cutting flowers, preparing food or training and conditioning the animals.
‘There are so many things you need to remember like making sure the animals all got the right feeds, right meds, right enrichment, if you locked all the locks and put everyone to bed,’ Tahrnia said.
‘There are so many things you need to remember like making sure the animals got the right feeds, meds, and enrichment, if you locked all the locks and put everyone to bed,’ she said.
It was only three years ago when she was 23 that Tahrnia realised she wanted to pursue a career as a zookeeper.
‘I’ve always loved animals and had dreamed of being a zookeeper since I was little but it wasn’t until I visited a zoo on the central coast and got chatting with a keeper there about how they got into it that I decided to take a leap of faith,’ she said.
From volunteering at the animal park one day a week, Tahrnia picked up a casual position where she gained ‘amazing experience’ and learned a lot about caring for animals.
It was only three years ago when she was 23 that Tahrnia realised she wanted to pursue a career as a zookeeper
After a year and a half was offered a full-time position and is set to complete a Certificate in Captive Animal Care from TAFE to be able to work at zoos all over Australia.
Tahrnia gave her advice for anyone who also wants to live their childhood dream working with animals saying volunteering is key and warns it’s a ‘very very physical job’.
‘There are so many different ways to get into the industry though, but I do always recommend volunteering somewhere, if you can afford to do so, first to get a proper feel for it,’ she said.