Day in the Life: The Green Planet curator on weighing lemurs and welcoming baby sloths

“A Day in the Life” allows you to step into the shoes of a UAE resident to experience a typical 24 hours in their work and home life. Erik Rohrkaste, assistant manager and curator of The Green Planet , has one of Dubai’s most unusual workplaces. With 3,000 plants and animals under his care, his job at the City Walk zoological attraction is not without challenges – but every day is a unique experience. Mr Rohrkaste, 29, from the US state of Wisconsin, takes The National through his working day as he cares for the many birds, reptiles and fish in the tropical bio-dome . The day starts early with a workout before breakfast. “I’m very much a morning person,” says Mr Rohrkaste, who joined The Green Planet five years ago following stints at Florida’s Busch Gardens and an aquarium. “I go to the gym, it energises me, and get back to my apartment at 7.15am, have breakfast, feed the cat, then head to work about 15 minutes away.” Mr Rohrkaste explains that a curator manages the animal collection, including conservation and breeding programmes. “Their husbandry, which includes diet, reproductive requirements and training, usually for veterinary behaviours,” he says. This includes, for example, getting lemurs on to weighing scales or inside a transport crate, as well as keeping them “mentally stimulated” through playing with a ball. “It’s not training as in getting them to do tricks, [but] it also can relate to guest experiences,” he says. “A few times a week, I’ll have a briefing with our biologist team, go through updates, upcoming events to prepare for etc.” The first of two daily children’s groups arrive, as many as 300 per session. “Education is one of our pillars,” says Mr Rohrkaste in the animal care kitchen. “It is important you have engagement with kids, with all guests, that’s why we try to be proactive, go out and initiate that conversation. “We have lots of educational experiences, different guest programmes to partake in … all offering a conservational message.” The doors open. Tours are self-guided, although staff are available to answer questions, point things out and confirm rules including not touching the animals or eating and drinking inside the dome. “Sometimes it’s cool for guests to see us opening a terrarium, feeding a snake … we want to incite curiosity and educate,” says Mr Rohrkaste. “When you see an animal in person, you make that connection, see the colours, how it acts and sounds.” Mr Rohrkaste’s role also involves coordinating with the operations, sales and marketing teams for exhibit launches to ensure arriving animal information is correct. “I work with IT to get our website up to date for different programmes, for example, the sloth interaction or zookeeper for the day,” he says. Maintaining “one big enclosure where a lot of species are living together in mixed cohabitation” can bring a unique set of challenges. Mr Rohrkaste and colleagues research which animals they can provide “the best home and welfare for”. He stresses they do not come from the wild, “to preserve natural populations”. “We have species that are part of endangered conservation breeding programmes, like the cotton-top tamarins,” he adds. “I co-ordinate with other zoological facilities and see where we can transfer animals to diversify the gene pool, maybe eventually back to their home country.” Sometimes his shift runs through the night when newcomers arrive. “Recently we received about 1,000 cichlid fish from Germany, which are going into our newly renovated river tank aquarium,” he says. “We were working from 1am to noon getting the fish acclimated to the water … you’ve got to make sure the temperature and water quality matches otherwise the fish could get shocked.” Lunch. “Usually [I eat] at my desk,” he says. “If I’m working on something, I have got to finish it. I'll cook or get something from our cafe.” There might be a discussion about summer camps which “have gone live” or bookings to camp in the rainforest. “I'll check in with my boss,” he says. “There’s a project I’m working on, a new aquarium, so new species coming in, and I’m keeping her updated when that’s going to launch, the marketing campaign and public announcement. “We also do animal meet-and-greet situations with the summer camp that I’m going to help organise.” Mr Rohrkaste is usually back in his office “to go over reports I need to send before the end of the day”, filing veterinary medical updates or finalising waivers for fish imports for the aquarium – or even cataloguing a major new arrival. “Our first baby sloth, Lime, the firstborn in the region, was a very big moment,” he says. “And we have a family of rescue slow lorises … mum and dad were abandoned in Dubai, likely to be some exotic pets, but luckily they found their way to the veterinary clinic we work with and we now have two babies.” “Get home and relax, maybe watch TV, make dinner,” says the curator, who adds he may also call his fiancée in the evening. Many creatures inside The Green Planet are nocturnal, but Mr Rohrkaste likes his sleep and is in bed by 9.30pm. “I can’t stay up late, I get too tired. Work is very physical, even though my job nowadays is more office stuff,” he adds. “No day is the same with animals, though … you’re always going to have something unpredictable pop up.”

Day in the Life: The Green Planet curator on weighing lemurs and welcoming baby sloths

See how Erik Rohrkaste helps to nurture a world of natural wonder at the popular attraction