Senior Elephant Keeper Connor Dennis Attends Elephant Resource Management and Husbandry Workshop at Chester Zoo

At Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, we’re committed to continually developing our knowledge and sharing best practice to provide the highest standards of care for our animals. 🐘

Senior Elephant Keeper Connor Dennis attended the annual Elephant Resource Management and Husbandry Workshop at Chester Zoo, for five days of discussions, lectures and practical sessions focused on elephant management and welfare.

Connor shared his highlights from the experience: "In June, I attended the annual Elephant Resource Management and Husbandry Workshop at Chester Zoo alongside keepers from across Europe and the USA. This was a 5-day workshop with discussions, lectures, and practical sessions looking at an array of topics including programme design, documentation, nutrition, foot care, food resource management, EEHV, tusk and molar problems, transport, and emergency responses. Tom, my manager, also presented about bull management and willow plantations at Noah’s Ark, which was great to see.

This workshop is overseen by Alan Roocroft, a world-renowned elephant consultant, who is recognised world-wide for implementing Protected Contact training and is a dear friend of Noah's Ark, helping design and start the Elephant Eden programme here. It was a pleasure to spend the week with him, learn more about caring for elephants, look at our own programme and managing bulls with different perspectives, and come away with fresh knowledge, ideas, and new friends. It has been a career highlight for me!”

We’re incredibly proud of Connor and our elephant team for their continued dedication to learning, collaboration and providing exceptional care for our herd at Elephant Eden. 🐘

Learn More About Our Elephants Here!