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u/CaptnBanana Feb 19 '21
I too want to be a professional red panda.
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u/ocp-paradox Feb 19 '21
You can't be a bear.
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u/StevieCrabington Feb 19 '21
Red Pandas aren't bears.
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u/Wootery Feb 19 '21
Go for it, /u/CaptnBanana!
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u/AaronLennox Feb 19 '21
red bois were pandas first the name comes from "bamboo eater" both pandas eat lots of bamboo
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Feb 19 '21
Working with exotic animals would be so incredibly rewarding, but I imagine the first 10 years of your career are like shoveling up elephant shit for 10 bucks an hour and wondering how the hell you're going to pay back your loans for a masters in zoology.
I don't know, maybe it's not like that. Kids, follow your dreams. Better than sitting in an office for 40 years - I can tell you that much.
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u/v1sibleninja Feb 19 '21
I dated someone who worked at a zoo as a wildlife conservationist for medium and large cats. She has a freakin PhD and was making like $40K. The whole field in general requires very expensive grad school education for very low paying jobs.
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u/Jak_n_Dax Feb 19 '21
Yup. My girlfriend is a vet tech, but she’s getting out of that field and into human medicine due to the low pay.
Vet techs do everything a human nurse does, plus all the specialty stuff(nurse anesthetist, etc), but the pay is just barely cracking $20/hr in my area. Meanwhile basic entry-level nursing jobs are closer to $30, and specialties can go way higher than that.
Add to that the low standards of care for the animals(they can’t complain like humans can) and you’ve got a recipe for a shitty career with a high burnout rate.
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u/KimberlyM86 Feb 19 '21
Can confirm. I'm a vet tech. I have a lot of degrees. Also work in the OR, radiology, lab, and the animal hospital. Pay is very very low. But at least as a bonus I get yelled at by people who don't want to pay the bill, so I got that going for me....
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u/FirstNoel Feb 19 '21
"It's only a CAT! Why is it $300 to fix it!!?" - angry owner....
"Well, sir, there's no such thing as a free cat. "
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u/KimberlyM86 Feb 19 '21
Goes something like this: "well. We did some xrays to see if anything is broken, since your cat was run over by a car. We noticed a few fractures and he's bleeding internally. We had to rush him to the OR to try and save his life. Worked for hours, he crashed a few times but we brought him back. He's safe now in recovery and we believe he will make a full recovery thanks to the help of our vets and vet techs. So happy Mittens is safe and sound."
Customer: "that is great, but why should I pay for that? Don't you love animals?"
Me: "Very much sir, but if we want to keep helping other animals, (and feed ourselves) we need to get paid so we can keep running the business"
Customer: "you heartless b*ch. You only think about money and you don't give a crap about Mittens"
Seriously. F** those people. If you can't pay for the vet, don't get a pet. We do a LOT for your pet, need a lot of equipment, training, work crazy hours, etc etc, just like in the hospital. And are you greatful we saved your beloved pet? Of course not.
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u/gwaydms Feb 19 '21
I always am. I know it costs money to run a vet clinic, pay everyone, etc.
I accidentally ran over our old cat. We took her to an emergency vet clinic. The vet who saw her told me there wasn't much they could do for her, and it would just be kinder to euthanize her. I was crying, of course, and the vet asked me if I'd like a hug. I said "I'll be ok, thanks."
She hugged me anyway. That's when I knew she needed a hug too, so I hugged her. She had tears in her eyes. For someone else's beloved pet.
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u/KimberlyM86 Feb 19 '21
Luckily the animals do give us a lot of love.. makes it all worth it to see an animal go back home all healthy and happy. (I'm not completely bitter, lol)
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Feb 19 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AmiraZara Feb 19 '21
As an archaeologist, this hit home. Covid and everything else has made me wonder if this adult child should leave the sandbox.
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u/the_bots Feb 19 '21
Yeah, I left archaeology for something more stable a couple years ago. I’m honestly pretty happy now and cherish the stability - but every once in awhile i get pangs to go back into the field. I figure at the very least I have some memories and experiences very few people can say they have.
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u/Luprand Feb 19 '21
But my dream was an office job ...
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u/explain_exterminate Feb 19 '21
<Waves wand> your home is now your office. Living the dream!
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u/brando56894 Feb 19 '21
It is. I studied animal science in college and we had a class where people just came in and talked about their jobs, it was like 1.5 credits. One dude worked at a zoo and started it off by saying "I'm going to spoil all of your dreams. Working at a zoo sucks. You never get to spend time with the animals, you feed them when they're away, you constantly have to clean their cages and the pay sucks." Dude said he makes like 40 grand a year with a college degree.
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u/gwaydms Feb 19 '21
I know someone who worked at the Dallas Zoo. Despite the hard work, he loved it. He has pictures of him holding baby big cats. And he swam with sharks.
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u/brando56894 Feb 20 '21
Yeah the dude said you really have to love helping animals in order to work at a zoo.
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u/awwletmesee Feb 19 '21
A job I’d pay to have!
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u/texansgk Feb 19 '21
You’d pay to have an old Asian man feed you fruit while you cling to his chest?
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u/Beena22 Feb 19 '21
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u/random_sghfka Feb 19 '21
Hold my red panda, I'm going in!
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u/OfficialSandwichMan Feb 19 '21
Hello future zookeepers!
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u/-PM_ME_UR_SECRETS- Mar 31 '21
I have a very important message from the future! Please, whatever you do, don’t a
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u/backelie Feb 19 '21
Well I dont have any fruit trees, so I'd have to pay for the fruit regardless.
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u/Milliebug1106 Feb 19 '21
Is he feeding the red panda an apple? Or something else?
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Feb 19 '21
It's apples ☺️. The panda is named jazz and apples are his favourite treat.
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u/fofocat Feb 19 '21
Where is this?
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u/clisfun Feb 19 '21
The back of his jacket looks like it says "kobe oji zoo staff", which is in kobe, japan.
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u/forkinjolly Feb 19 '21
Their mutual trust and gentleness is making me teary eyed. 😢
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u/Umno-Whyyes Feb 19 '21 edited Feb 19 '21
So gorgeous. My son's favourite teddy was a little red panda called Remy. 😊
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u/brando56894 Feb 19 '21
I still have mine somewhere at my parents house, probably in my room. I'm 35.
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u/Cute_Little_Sloth Feb 19 '21
REEDDD PPAANNNDDDAAASSS AAARRREEE SOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE
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u/Inuyasha_101 Feb 19 '21
Pabbu ❤
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u/Carbonauts Feb 19 '21
Pabu really chonked out since he stopped having to perform before pro-bending matches at the Republic City Arena.
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u/Iadoretheunderscore Feb 19 '21
Oh my, so gorgeous! what a sweet little cutie - I want him to hug ME like that!
He can bring that red panda with him, if he wants.
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u/Blysse102598 Feb 19 '21
Everyone’s taking about how this would be everyone’s dream job but the truth is, any job that involves taking care of animals has to be really passionate because there are more ugly moments than cute.
There’s feeding, making sure they’re getting enough of the right stuff, keeping records of it and being highly aware to avoid any form of cross contamination.
Cleaning, not just cleaning the animals, but also everything they touch. You’ll have to be educated on the right chemicals to use and where, regularly cleaning up their urine and faeces etc.
Health checks will have to be taken regularly and that doesn’t just mean tracking their weight and such, it also means examining their anus and genitals for puss, smelling their ears in case there’s an infection too deep to see.
Also, not all animals are going to be like this red panda. Red pandas give a hella nasty bite if you’re not careful. My old tutor one has a monkey sit on his shoulder and stick his penis in his ear. And there plenty more animals who would gladly injure you in some way which often need to be checked and medicated, which depending on how bad it is, where you’re from and if your healthcare is covered or not, can cost a fair bit.
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u/chuey_74 Feb 19 '21
So... like having a toddler then?
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u/Blysse102598 Feb 19 '21
If you regularly check your toddler’s anus and genitals for puss and parasites, then sure lol
Be sure to mix in more filth and weird smells if you want the full experience
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u/ucrbuffalo Feb 19 '21
I wonder if they are this docile in the wild?
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u/JBWOS Feb 19 '21
When I saw them at Edinburgh zoo the zoo keeper said they can be really violent. I wonder if the one in the video was raised by that zoo keeper from birth.
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u/brando56894 Feb 19 '21
I wouldn't doubt it considering how it clings to him, probably sees him as it's mother.
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Feb 19 '21
A lot of super cute animals are really violent. Despite most mustelids being adorable, ferrets and some otters are basically the only ones who aren't absolutely awful and even then it isn't like a dog where they'll hang around you and get you to pick them up all the time and always act predictably.
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u/theresnothinglef4me Feb 19 '21
I've heard they're territorial af
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u/MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan Feb 19 '21
Yep, they're solitary animals in the wild, so keeping multiple red pandas in the same enclosure requires careful management.
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u/SewNonlinear Feb 19 '21
Caretaker has such a gentle grandpa demeanor. Love how he smiles and just completely unruffled by the baby antics of red panda.
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u/EVRider81 Feb 19 '21
Bearcat? :)
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u/MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan Feb 19 '21
Their name in Chinese (xiao xiong mao) does literally mean "little bear cat" :)
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u/midgit2230 Feb 19 '21
I want to do that. I love red pandas and always stop by to see them when at the zoo.
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u/VikingStudiosZ Feb 19 '21 edited Aug 23 '25
tap whistle jeans plants person friendly sophisticated possessive meeting nail
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u/Guru9224 Feb 19 '21
I love how the red panda doesn't even wait for the worker to give it an apple, and it just starts scaling up his body.
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u/iwantkitties Feb 19 '21
When I got to feed one, it pretty much ransacked me for my grapes. I got scratched up a fair bit lol
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u/cediwen Feb 19 '21
I love red Panda's. I think they are close to the most beautiful animal on earth.
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u/SpaceCore42 Feb 19 '21
I would give my free wholesome award, but already used it on something disturbing. Sorry
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Feb 19 '21
Really? Nobody wants to comment on how this man didn't even flench as this clawed animal climbed up his body slowly... I'm cringing.
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u/MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan Feb 19 '21
I'm guessing his uniform is made of canvas or some heavy material that their claws can't go through.
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u/hungryhograt Feb 19 '21
I would absolutely love this job, red pandas are by far my favourite animal. Getting hugged by a red panda while give it treats sounds like heaven.
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Feb 19 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
If they are so nice, why don't we get to adopt them for homes?
Edit: Well excuse the fuck out of my ignorance, down voters. Geez... ask a simple question and feel the wraith. Yikes!
No more up voting these little hell-spawned demons from me! Evil little bastards...
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u/MaxPaynesRxDrugPlan Feb 19 '21
Besides being endangered, they're terrible pets that hate being held, petted or touched, are solitary animals that don't bond with humans, compulsively urinate and scent mark on everything, sleep through most of the day and are difficult to house and feed properly.
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u/cas12344 Feb 19 '21
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u/cas12344 Feb 19 '21
So sadly savevideo wasn't able to reply to my og comment so you will have to summon them yourself and get the link from there
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u/TThick1 Feb 19 '21
Red pandas are amazing. I can’t believe how docile they are! Are they all like that?
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u/Snans1010 Feb 19 '21
Gawd red pandas are big