I Work With Animals! Kevin Richardson, Lion Tamer

Apr 29th 2009

What animal lover hasn't daydreamed about ditching their desk job and applying for a job at the zoo? Or at doggy daycare? Or tracking gorillas in Africa? We sure have, but since most of us may never actually get to work with the animals we love, we thought we'd introduce you to a few people who do.

Name: Kevin Richardson
Age: 34
Job: Animal behaviorist, lion tamer, author and film producer based in South Africa

This amazing shot of you and Meg had animal lovers in a tizzy. When did you start working with lions?
About 11 years ago I met a guy who owned The Lion Park in South Africa. I had the opportunity to go there and met two lion cubs that kind of touched my heart. Next thing I know, 11 years have gone by and I'm still very friendly with these lions Tau and Napoleon. I now work at a facility that I helped set up with one of the owners of The Lion Park called The Kingdom of the White Lion.

Do you have a specialty?
I specialize in indigenous animals -- hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, all of our African predators, really.

How did you train for your job?
There's no book written for it! I think it's something one develops over the years. There's no substitute for experience. You've just got to pioneer things, push the barriers a bit.

A bit?
[Laughs] A bit. You know, a lot of people ask me these things. I don't know how I do it, it just kind of works out.

What is your educational background?
I went to university and studied zoology for two years but got fed up because in zoology, you study a lot of sea creatures -- urchins, microscopic organisms. You don't ever really get to study mammals as one would imagine. I didn't want to spend my life studying a garden snail! I eventually studied physiology and anatomy, and then I went to work on people doing exercise physiology.

And you didn't like working on people?
People were never my first choice. I thought animals would always be a hobby because I had to go get a career. But when you're passionate it's only a matter of time before something comes along that suits that passion. In the back of mind I think I always knew exercise physiology would've bored the hell out of me.

What's the trade-off? Salary?
You're not going to get rich working in this field. I have a really great boss who is equally passionate about the animals. Still, my job is not just a guy who rolls around with lions all day -- I have a busy day and chores. From working with animals to producing a feature film, to starring in documentaries to raising babies to managing a game park. A typical animal keeper in South Africa will earn between R5,000 to R10,000 a month ($550 to $1,100 in US currency).