Houston Zoo zookeeper wins national award

Houston Zoo zookeeper Sara Riger was recently honored by her peers from the American Association of Zoo Keepers for her work on site in Houston. She won the Golden Keeper award by the American Association of Zoo Keepers, besting nine other nominees. Click through to see more photos of Riger in action at the Houston Zoo... less Houston Zoo zookeeper Sara Riger was recently honored by her peers from the American Association of Zoo Keepers for her work on site in Houston. She won the Golden Keeper award by the American Association of ... more Photo: Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo Photo: Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Houston Zoo zookeeper wins national award 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A Houston Zoo zookeeper was recently honored by her peers from the American Association of Zoo Keepers for her work in the Bayou City.

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Sara Riger is currently the Naturally Wild Swap Shop naturalist and has been a zookeeper for 25 years, beginning in the early '90s at the Bronx Zoo.

She won the Golden Keeper award from the American Association of Zoo Keepers, besting nine other nominees. She received the most likes in a AAZK Facebook page contest.

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This is the first ever Golden Keeper honor to be awarded.

OINKING IN THE MED CENTER: Houston Zoo shows off adorable, newborn piglets

Riger has been at the Houston Zoo for 13 years, first working with various carnivores and primates before working at the kid-friendly Swap Shop attraction at the John P. McGovern Children's Zoo.

The zoo has had an eventful summer, with the birth of various new animals including a brand-new baby elephant named Joy earlier this month.