Some years ago there was this guy who made us love nature even when nature was spooky. He was the man that made everything bearable, and because of him, even in the most venomous creatures on this earth one could see the innocence that hides beneath their skin. The name of that man was Steve Irwin, and as we all remember him, he made nature fun and any animal his friend (and sometimes a better friend than some human beings). ‘Cat Keeper’ follows the trail of Steve Irwin in a way, dealing with the matter of wild animals but this time in captivity, at a zoo.

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Dartmoor Zoo is one of the smallest zoos in the United Kingdom, a place where the animal kingdom is protected and nurtured with such good care by the local employees. Alex Betts is the one in charge of the cats… the big and strong ones, of course! Lions, tigers, you name it; he is the man playing with what all of us dreamt to play when we were kids and saw Tarzan. The cats seem to love him, and he is taking really good care of them, making us think once again that after all, not all the zoos out there are the same.

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Alex Betts talks about the animals he is in charge of with such a good heart as one would talk about their friends. He knows them so well, and one can easily see the joy in his eyes whilst he is interacting with them. Steven Weaver's short documentary brought back the splendor of the simple themes in documentaries: the interaction between the man and the animal.  For us, this is a great combination and director Steven Weaver definitely succeeded in showing not only a zookeeper's day-to-day life, but also a friendship that is not as common nowadays.

 

All in all, this short documentary is indeed a great promotional film and we hope it will bring more people to Dartmoor Zoo for the main reason that it seems like those animals have so much love to give in a world where people should be more receptive and give the same love back.

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Written by Vlad A. G