Lauren Arshakuni
SENIOR KEEPER
Myakka City, FL
Lauren joins us from Redwood City, CA and is a graduate of Sonoma State University with a B.A. in Anthropology: Primatology. Lauren developed a great animal care skill set from two internships at the Oakland Zoo in California where she worked with a wide variety of species, including siamangs, hamadryas baboons, chimpanzees, squirrel monkeys, tamarins, sun bears, and more.
In 2017, Lauren applied for the 3 month animal husbandry internship at LCF to learn more about a different type of primate than she had previously worked with. Her original focus and career path was headed towards great apes, but after some time with the lemurs, LCF’s setup, and the conservation work efforts, her focus shifted. Promoted from intern to keeper and now senior keeper, Lauren has become head of the animal welfare program and training program at LCF. She is extremely proud of her success in training one of LCF’s breeding female red ruffed lemurs to voluntarily allow for an ultrasound reading which can be beneficial to know in the event of a pregnancy.