by Carla Caruso

A love of animals has led an Adelaide zookeeper – and avid park-goer – to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Jodie Sheridan, the orangutan project lead at Adelaide Zoo in Park 11, says the situation abroad “hit home very deeply”, as she has friends of Ukrainian background in South Australia. 

When she was looking for where to donate online, she stumbled across a Ukrainian animal shelter, Sanctuary Happy Animals, in the Kharkiv region.

After seeing the incredible work the founder, Nina Fedorkina, was doing, Jodie reached out. The pair have since struck up a friendship online, with Jodie helping to set up two crowdfunding fundraisers on Nina’s behalf. 

“[The war] just feels so tragic, and I felt so helpless being so far away and not knowing what to do,” Jodie says. “Of course there are wonderful, big charities out there, doing amazing things. But this was just an opportunity where I felt I could have a major impact to someone directly.”

One of her fundraising campaigns is helping Nina to care for over 50 rescued animals in a temporary shelter – including horses, donkeys, and goats – plus deliver food to dogs and cats left behind in the region when people fled the war. 

Another of her fundraising campaigns is to aid a volunteer group, assisting displaced families, buying medical supplies for the local hospitals and defence teams, and painting warning signs about landmines. 

Of Nina (pictured with dog), Jodie says “she’s just got a heart of gold”. “As soon as it’s safe to do so, I honestly feel like I just want to get on a plane and go help her, whether that’s to rebuild her sanctuary on her original farm [or something else]. I just need to give her a big hug. I tell her everyday how amazing she is.”

Since April, Jodie has already helped raise almost $7,000. Part of GoFundMe’s criteria for anyone seeking donations for Ukraine is that the fundraisers must undergo a deep review. Her two causes were recently verified by the platform. “So everyone can trust that the money that goes to the fundraiser, I’m passing on, and also that Nina is using it as stated.”

When Jodie’s not busy raising funds, she helps look after the two Sumatran Orangutans, Puspa and Kluet, at Adelaide Zoo. 

“Puspa is classic Gen-X,” Jodie says with a smile. “She’s 47. She has a great sense of humour; she loves to play and joke with her carers … She [also] loves to paint and organise and be hands-on with activities and things.

“Kluet, I giggle, is just your classic 20-something-year-old. He is a techno whiz; he just loves technology. If we film him on our phones, he motions to us that he wants to see the video. He became the first orangutan in the world to create a music single [via a phone app]. 

“He’s very sweet and doesn’t like a lot of attention. I know at the zoo a lot of people struggle to ever see him, because he often just sits where he can see them, but they can’t necessarily see him, because he’s quite shy.”

Jodie had a special bond with Kluet’s former partner, Karta, who died in 2017, aged 36. The zookeeper’s even changed her Instagram handle to ‘Jodie Karta Sheridan’ to honour their friendship. 

“She did become like a best friend, and we very much could understand each other in so many ways,” Jodie confides. “She had never been able to have an infant of her own for a couple of different reasons, and so, we had been through some losses together. I watched her grieve and supported her ... She was very, very dear to me.”

To get to work, Jodie regularly cycles through the Park Lands, including Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi (Park 16) and Blue Gum Park / Kurangga (Park 20). 

“Knowing I’m essentially commuting through this big city, yet I’m surrounded by trees, is just wonderful. You see dogs playing, people walking, you’re riding at a pace where you can say hello to people. We’re just so fortunate to have the Park Lands that we do.”