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STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Adam was raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and in 2008 received his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of South Dakota. He began his zoological journey as an intern at Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, SD, where he worked with a wide range of animals. From there he would do a second internship, this time at Oregon Zoo working mainly with primates. In 2009 he made his way to Texas and became a reptile keeper at the Ellen Trout Zoo. His love of primates grew and, in early 2012, he took a position at the Kansas City Zoo as a primate keeper working with chimpanzees and baboons. Five years later, Adam moved back and became a primate keeper in the Asia Primates department where he cares for a multitude of animals, including all of the primates, flamingos, porcupines, and raccoon.
ZOOKEEPER
ASIA PRIMATES
ADAM DEZOTELL
Favorite Holiday: 4th of July
Favorite Color: Blue or green
Favorite Memory: Hand raising animals. You lose a lot of sleep but it can be so rewarding in the end.
Little Known Fact: My favorite baseball team is the Oakland A's.
Best Quote: "Do the Dew."
Toughest Challenge: Being so far away from family. My mom still lives in South Dakota but both of my brothers live in Kansas City.
Who Inspired You?: Steve Irwin. I watched his shows and realized that’s what I wanted to do. Work with animals.
Favorite Animals: Mabel, the De Brazza's monkey that was born at the Ellen Trout Zoo in 2021. I came in to work and during morning rounds I saw her laying in the substrate not moving. I went in the enclosure to get her and as soon as I touched her she started vocalizing. I immediately called the then supervisor and curator and took her to the clinic. We warmed her up and fed her and tried to do a reintroduction but again Azima (mother) and Flint (father) had no interest in her. At that point we decided to hand raise her.