I Cook for Animals

Chef Yohn Sutton has a lot to do in his kitchen each day. He washes vegetables, chops fruit, and bakes sweet potatoes. He also works with unusual ingredients, like crickets, mealworms, and mice!

Sutton is the nutrition keeper at the Virginia Zoo. Each day, he preps meals for the zoo’s 670 animals, ranging from millipedes to African lions. Each species follows a specific diet.

Sutton makes sure that every animal gets the correct vitamins and nutrients. To do this, he prepares thousands of pounds of food every week! We spoke with Sutton to find out what it takes to feed an entire zoo.

I studied animal nutrition in college. After graduating, I joined the Virginia Zoo as a zookeeper. I cared for animals by feeding them, cleaning their enclosures, monitoring their health, and providing activities to keep them occupied. In 2016, I began overseeing the zoo’s nutrition center.

We have a type of ape called a gibbon that is picky about food texture. He wouldn’t touch raw sweet potatoes. He was underweight. I started cooking the potatoes to make them softer and sweeter. Now he’s chowing down and thriving!

Seek out hands-on experiences. You can start by closely observing how animals eat. For instance, tortoises use their sharp beaks to tear food. So we give them large pieces of food they can rip apart. But birds need smaller pieces because they can choke on big chunks. If you love working with animals, this is a great job for you!