At National Zoo, sequester could threaten exhibits but not animal care

The animals are getting their food and medicine, but Saffoe worries another round of cuts will mean even less time for anything else. He looks on as keeper Kristen Clark works with Naba through the mesh. Clark is getting the lioness used to maneuvers that are helpful for her frequent visits from the vet, such as sticking her tail out for a blood test or pressing her open mouth against the fence for a dental check.

Conditioned like this, the animals can get routine exams quickly and safely. But if there’s no time for training, they will need to be darted with tranquilizers more often, a traumatizing and dangerous procedure.

“We’re kind of getting down to the bare essentials,” Saffoe said. “I have tons of new data that we’ve gathered on the lion cubs, but it’s sitting on my hard disk because research has gone on the back burner.”

After his morning work with the big cats, Saffoe headed out through a light rain to tend to the other end of the food chain.

She is confident that the animals will be well cared for even in the face of a sequester. But as a management consultant for federal contractors, Wille is less certain about what will happen to her. “Honestly, I’m worried about my own job,” she said.

Over at the American Trail exhibit, North American seals and sea lions and otters cavort near beavers and gray wolves and a bald eagle. It’s a massively complex ecosystem, with sophisticated water systems and one of the biggest ranges of species in the zoo. The five keepers on the exhibit’s staff had hoped reinforcements were coming, but further cuts would make that unlikely. Three keepers have to be on-site every day, so they will work seven or eights days in a row when anyone gets sick and cut back on the question-and-answer time with visitors.

“We’re pretty much running from one place to another,” keeper Rebecca Miller said as she tossed an ice ring to the sea lions, her hands still smelling of the 150 pounds of fish and squid that are cut each morning. She has missed weddings, Thanksgivings and Christmases, and usually works federal holidays.

“It’s become kind of a lifestyle,” she said. “We do it because we love the animals.”