European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Keeper in Frankfurt i at the zoom a be Peng Insa Quot a Foo s three hipp�p0ta a requires a the acc year Lucky you get the Sec Yundt. Who considers a Zzz mid Valks to the Edge Ira opens a Mouth the Schmidt reaches m past trough Pink Tongue.  he understates . A Maleto Schmidt s gentle tap lines to Greet him. He the Rhino just below the Horn. Kakusho which is the name of a Well in the rhinos native country and Tsororos a female named for a River in Zimbabwe came to the zoo Only 10 months ago from the african Jungle. A after two or three weeks they started getting Friendly to us a Schmidt says. A it was Nice to see How it works. A of course the most important thing is who brings the  Schmidt a Day begins about 7 30 . He first checks All of his charges to see that they seem to be in Good health. If the Large animals have not eaten the previous evenings meal it might be a sign of illness which he reports to the zoo veterinarian. It May be easy to Tell which Rhino has undergone a behaviour change but How does one Tell which Penguin is acting differently a fall of them look similar a Schmidt acknowledges but says there is an easy Way to Tell them apart. Schmidt has color photographs that show the front of each Bird. The White belly is spotted with Black splotches. To the Penguin the splotches Are As unique As a humans fingerprints and provide undeniable identification of the Bird. Before feeding the seals and penguins Schmidt must prepare the meal. He spends 30 minutes cutting the fish in half and dousing them with Salt in a Small room behind the Pool. A we feed them Saltwater fish because they eat the whole fish even the Bones a Schmidt says. A the Freshwater fish have too hard of  he cuts the fish Only so the visitors will see a longer show. The Salt is simply a dietary supplement for animals native to oceans but kept in Freshwater because Saltwater is too costly to maintain. Some of the seals need vitamins so Schmidt makes a Small incision in some fish and inserts a Tablet. Handling All that fish is not the most pleasant of jobs and it has left its Mark on Schmidt. A since i started this Job a he says a i no longer eat  the rhinos and hippos eat a breakfast of carrots Oats and food pellets. Afterwards Schmidt prepares their evening meal of an assortment of grasses before preparing the mid morning meal for the seals and penguins. Besides feeding the animals and moving them from their indoor cages to the pens outside much of Schmidt a Day is spent cleaning. He hoses out the cages washes windows and scrubs pools. He also fishes unwanted items from the water. Hanging behind the Seal Pool is a hive of baby pacifiers perhaps 40 of them Strung together by Schmidt. He has fished them out of the Pool. When people drop things in the Pool either acc Dently or intentionally it is More than just something for Schmidt to clean. A Large male Seal suddenly died a year ago. A in its stomach were chestnuts and a Woolen hat a he says. A zookeepers Job has its inherent hazards. Schmidt a Collarbone was broken when an elephant he was passing behind backed up and pinned him into the Wall. A lion once clawed his hand while he was feeding it. A four of the Lions claws hit the meat. The fifth one hit my hand a he says. A it was my  on the Back of his calf is a Horseshoe shaped Gash caused when a Seal bit him recently. Being nipped on the hand is common when feeding seals. A when they Are hungry and you feed them they done to look where the fish ends and the Finger starts a Schmidt says. But Schmidt says such incidents arc part of the Job and arc usually not the fault of the animal. A if we have an Accident with an animal normally its our fault a he says. �?o1 think driving a car is much More  Schmidt says he loves his Job but he does no to get carried away with it. It is aft Crall he says a Job just a different kind of Job. A wok basically its the same every Day a he says. A but animals Are not the same every  Ron Jensen and Michael Abrams Are stars and stripes staff members. Story by Ron Jensen photos by Michael Abrams sunday c Page 7