Hear Me Roar

In the early 1980s, when Erna Walraven decided to follow her dreams and become one of the first female zookeepers in Australia, she thought her biggest challenges would be feeding big cats and subduing irate gorillas. In fact, it was her male colleagues who made work miserable, harassing and humiliating her for doing a 'man's job'. So, she looked to the animals under her care to prove them wrong.

Despite what Erna's colleagues seemed to think, the females of the animal world were far from weak and demure. Elephant matriarchs led their herds; female bonobos revelled in sexual exploration; emu mothers abandoned their chicks to the care of their fathers. Her colleagues wouldn't dare tell a female tiger that hunting was a 'male's job' - why were they so intent on limiting Erna?

In this insightful and delightful book, Erna blends memoir and pop science to tell a fiercely female story. She recounts a life spent caring for animals in a fast transforming industry, and dives into scientific evidence and evolutionary history to debunk the myths that once held her back.

About the Author

Erna Walraven was born in the Netherlands, moved to Spain as a young adult and stayed long to develop a robust appreciation of Spanish wine and tapas. She moved to Australia in her late twenties, where she picked up Australian slang to add to her language portfolio. She's worked as a translator and interpreter of Dutch, German, French, Spanish and English, and as a kennel-maid, zookeeper, petrol-pump attendant, waitress, aged-care worker, farmhand, conveyancing clerk, debt collector and dog washer. After trying many different jobs, she settled for zoology to eventually spend two decades as the Senior Curator at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. As the Senior Curator she was responsible for the care of some 400 wild animal species. She was also a consultant to other zoos on animal husbandry, welfare, and other matters.