Asia Martusia King’s first piece for this magazine is a History column about bears going stir crazy in New Zealand zoos. The Wellington science communicator is training as a zookeeper, a dream job that grew from a childhood spent chasing bugs in the garden and, later, “a fierce Pokémon obsession”.
Sounds silly, she says, but she was surprised by how big giraffes are. “As a visitor, you’re usually viewing them from a platform. It’s so different gawking up at this six-metre-tall alien creature you’re feeding, with giraffe drool and beetroot pulp dribbling down your shirt. Their poo is surprisingly tiny, though.”