Adam Felts
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Curator of Heart of Africa and Asia Quest
Adam has been working at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium since 1997. He began his full-time career as a pachyderm keeper working with both African and Asian elephants (in restricted and unrestricted settings). Between 2008 and 2013, Adam was promoted to Head Keeper and then to Assistant Curator of Asia Quest/Pachyderms, assisting in managing the region's collection, such as elephants, rhinos, sun bears, tigers, lions, ungulates, birds, and flying foxes. Adam played a vital role as Keeper/Head Keeper and Assistant Curator, managing elephant care professionals' training, elephant husbandry, elephant exercise programs, and the training of the elephants. During his time with the elephans, Adam has participated extensively in transitioning several bull elephants to restricted management, managing two successful births and the training of these two calves, among all the other things related to the care of the elephants.
During the beginning of Adam's career, he was a major contributor to the creation of the International Rhino Keeper Association. At its inception, Adam was elected President and enjoyed organizing and planning the Biennial Rhino Keeper Workshops and other vital professional development opportunities for rhino keepers throughout the world, demonstrating his ability to collaborate with other professionals throughout the zoo community.
In 2013, Adam was promoted to the position of Assistant Curator of the new Heart of Africa region. After months of collaboration, planning, designing, and construction, he and his staff enjoyed the huge success of the new Heart of Africa.
With the immense success of the Heart of Africa and his persistence in excellence, Adam was promoted to Curator of the Heart of Africa and Asia Quest regions in late 2015. Since returning to the elephants, over the last year his team was able to successfully organize and participate in the first elephant artificial insemination at the Columbus Zoo, a multitude of enhancements of the elephant program facility, and an increased involvement in the elephant community. Adam's goals are to be given the opportunity to collaborate with other elephant care managers to continue exceptional care of elephants in human management (his professional passion). As a board member of the EMA and with his 17 years' experience, Adam hopes to collaborate with other likeminded people in the elephant profession to have a positive impact on all elephants in zoological organizations.