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Who's Who

WHO'S WHO AT THE ZOO: Larkin Johansen

By Liam Major, Membership Coordinator

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As our primary penguin keeper, Larkin Johansen spends most of her days at Tuxedo Coast cleaning, feeding, and training our penguins and aardvarks. She also works with the southern cassowary in our Australia Loop and develops conservation project proposals to present to our conservation committee. Larkin has been with the Zoo and Gardens since 2013 and has almost always been employed in the animal care field. Her passion for protecting wildlife and their natural habitats led her to earning a BSc degree in Marine Science from Jacksonville University.

From her hometown in New Orleans to Florida where she has lived most of her life, that passion for animals is something that her parents instilled in her at a young age. Her deep appreciation for our natural surroundings is the reason why she is most proud of the conservation projects

she has had a hand in launching here and the amazing training successes she has had with some notoriously difficult animals to work with.

Of all of the forward-thinking exhibits at the Zoo, Larkin enjoys the mixed taxa and mixed species habitats the most. It is the thought, time, and dedication that the animal care and horticulture teams put in that make these biomes so special. Her three favorite animals are the penguins, cassowaries, and vultures. To her, “Penguins are ocean sentinels, cassowaries are a keystone species, and vultures are literally the heroes of the ecosystem for their unique ability to dispose of carcasses and devastating diseases.” In her free time, she enjoys tending to her vegetable garden, relaxing by the pool, and spending quality time with her toddler.

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