2009
Rhino Keeper Workshop
Survey results

The IRKA Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to thank all Rhino Keeper Workshop delegates who took the time to complete the survey. The Board of Directors will use these results to help improve the content of your workshop.

What was your overall impression of the workshop?

We are pleased that the vast majority of delegates felt the workshop was not only enjoyable, but worthwhile and provided a great opportunity for networking. Many were impressed by the knowledge and professionalism of the delegates attending and this interaction will colleagues gave them a lot of ideas to take back to their respective institution. Many of you enjoyed the mixture of conservation and captive management issues that were presented. However, some people felt we needed to improve communication and organization and the BOD recognizes that there is a lot of responsibility placed on the workshop chairperson, so for 2011 RKW, the BOD will be responsible for soliciting presentations, communicating with speakers and organizing itinerary for presentations. There were suggestions to increase the number of speakers and have more diversity (ex – research projects), so the BOD and RKW chairperson will make every attempt to increase the number and variety of presenters for next RKW.

What presentations could make 2011 workshop more effective?

An overwhelming majority of delegates feel that we need to continue with a variety of topics and cover everything from training, medical and breeding; but expand to cover more ambiguous topics such as how to effectively communicate with your boss to get some of the ideas garnered at workshop implemented, geriatric rhino care, shipping concerns and safety considerations, hand rearing issues, etc. Delegates would also like to have roundtable discussions involving exhibit design, mixed species exhibits, equipment design plans (for chutes, weighing platforms, etc.), foot/nail care and fundraising ideas to generate revenue for international projects. And, with increased pressure from management regarding public “presentations” people would like the chance to talk about what behaviors they do to involve the public and how to give effective presentations to the public. There was also an interest in getting an update on rhinos that are either being relocated or released back into the wild as well as linking with RAG/SSP/TAG/AZA and getting updates from studbook keepers. There were also some helpful suggestions involving putting emergency contact numbers on the back of the nametags, including one-day pricing on registration form, and providing information on family activities that may be available in the workshop area.

Please provide any additional comments or observations you feel the Board could utilize to better serve you and reach the goals of the IRKA.

It was suggested that we put the videos of presentations on website and develop a “members only” section on the website, both of these options are actually being investigated by the IRKA Webmaster, Dave Clawson. A suggestion was made to have more information about RKW on the website so the BOD and RKW chairperson will use both the website and newsletter to convey relevant, and timely, information about the workshop to the membership. Numerous people mentioned how interesting it was to hear from the “front line people” in the field and would like to see an increase in their number as well as an increase in the number of international attendees.

The Board of Directors would like to thank the individuals who took the time to put an appreciative comment or complimentary note regarding the work we do. However, if you have any suggestions or comments on how we can improve to best meet your needs, please feel free to contact one of us.