Hear Me Roar

By: Erna Walraven

Narrated by: Rachael Tidd

A memoir about zookeeping, and what animals taught me about feminism.

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.

©2025 Erna Walraven (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd