ALEX COHEN, host:
Today, Lisa Olivares will get the day off, but quite a few of us don't. We're checking in with people who are on the job today. Joining us now is Barb Webber. She's the zoological manager of primates at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. Hi, Barb.
Ms. BARBARA WEBBER (Zoological Manager of Primates, Disney's Animal Kingdom): Hi, Alex.
COHEN: How many animals are you minding there today?
Ms. WEBBER: Myself, I am minding about 35 primates, but there are more than 7,000 animals here at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
COHEN: And what kind of primates are you taking care of?
Ms. WEBBER: Well, we have very large ones - gorillas are our largest - all the way down to Cotton-top Tamarins, which are probably about a pound.
COHEN: You've been there for quite a few hours already. How's the day going so far?
Ms. WEBBER: My morning has been fairly busy. I went down to our gorilla area. We have a gorilla that has some teeth issues, and we were brushing her teeth. We did a dental rinse on her and getting them ready to go out in their habitat for the day. And I went early this morning to our Mandrill building and was checking the exhibit. We're doing some rehab work and mandrills went out for the first time in several months.
COHEN: Mandrills is a type of animal?
Ms. WEBBER: Yes, it's a primate. It's actually one of the largest monkey species there are. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Rafiki from the movie "Lion King?" Rafiki is a mandrill. They have extremely colorful noses and rumps, and like I said, they're one of the largest monkey species.
COHEN: Do the animals get something special to eat considering it's Thanksgiving?
Ms. WEBBER: Keepers that are responsible for the day-to-day care of the animals do make some special treats for the animals. For example, our gorillas, on a daily basis, they get sweet potatoes, and on Thanksgiving, they may add some nutmeg or cinnamon to the sweet potatoes to make it kind of reminiscent of being home with family on the holidays.
COHEN: Barb Webber is working today at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Happy Thanksgiving, Barb, to you and your animal friends.
Ms. WEBBER: Thank you so much, Alex, and the same to you.
Copyright © 2008 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.