Erna Walraven : one of the first female zookeepers in Australia
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Erna Walraven became one of Australia's first female zookeepers in the early 1980s. She wasn't exactly welcomed by some of her male colleagues , and that made her curious about power dynamics in the animal world.
She became senior curator at Taronga Zoo, and has now written a book on her observations after three decades. From the aggressive female argonaut, to the promiscuous lady emu, to the 'drag queen cuttlefish', Erna Walraven examines gender roles throughout the animal kingdom, unpacking some myths along the way.
Her book is called
Hear Me Roar: a memoir about zookeeping and what animals taught me about feminism.
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