BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Today we continue SamfordSports.com's series giving alumni, fans and friends an in-depth video interview focused on the lives of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in the wake of COVID-19. In Friday's sixth episode, Jonathan McAfoos visits with former volleyball standout and current staff biologist at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., Sheriden Ploof (formerly Stangohr).
 
Ploof, a native of Kansas, played volleyball at Samford from 2006 to 2009. She helped lead the program to back-to-back Southern Conference North Division titles and she currently ranks fourth in school history in career hitting percentage (.303). She also represented Samford at the USA Volleyball tryouts in 2010.


 
Ploof talked about some of the factors that convinced her to make the move to Homewood, all the way from Kansas.
 
"I think the campus speaks for itself, it's just absolutely beautiful," Ploof said. "And on top of that, they had the major that I was going for, which is Marine Science. I was able to take classes on Dauphin Island, and the school really just had everything I wanted. The volleyball team was growing then and I really just wanted to make a difference, so I chose Samford and am really happy I did."
 
Ploof serves as a staff biologist at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash. She is in charge of the marine mammal department. She said she and her staff work closely with a large group of animals.
 
"I work with a team of nine and we care for walruses, polar bears, seals, sea lions, penguins, sea otters and some sea birds," Ploof said. "We are responsible for the care and management of the animals, so we wear a lot of hats. We make sure they're healthy, we make sure they're fed, we make sure they're well-trained and we make sure they get the best possible care that they need."
 
Ploof added that the responsibilities of her and her staff can vary from day-to-day.
 
"On any given day I could be training a walrus for x-rays or getting our baby sea lions introduced to our older sea lions so we can have a more cohesive group," Ploof said. "What's really important about our job is making sure that we can work with these animals and that they are trained to do so, because we can't make them do anything they don't want to do. So, training them to help us is really important because the walruses are well over two thousand pounds, so you can't make them do anything, unless they're helping you out with that. So, with them and the polar bears, it's really fun. There's no typical day and I think that is why I really like it."
 
Like all areas, Ploof's industry has been affected by the COVD-19 pandemic. In addition to the zoo and aquarium being closed, she talked about some other areas that have been affected.
 
"We have had some lay-offs," Ploof said. "In the past week and a half, Metro Parks has laid off about 520 part-time employees. So our staff is getting cut short, and we're seeing the impacts of that. Also, we have the safety issues, making sure we're not transmitting anything to the animals. Even though our staff is cut short, we are still taking really good care of the animals. I would say if anybody is not feeling the impacts of the virus, it's going to be the animals that we care for. So, they're not missing anything, but we might be running around like chickens with our heads cut off just a little bit more than we normally are."
 
The state of Washington was the first state in the United States to report cases of COVID-19. Ploof talked about when she first started seeing the affects from the virus.
 
"I feel like we started to notice it in February, maybe the beginning of February," Ploof said. "And then, I know there were meetings going on about what we would do when it got to this point, well before it even happened. So, I think maybe the last weekend in February is when everything started to fall into place."
 
Recently, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo became the first animal in the United States to test positive for COVID-19. Ploof said that has affected the way all of the zoos have treated their day-to-day operations. She said the three Sumatran tigers at Point Defiance are not showing any signs of infection, but they are taking precautions to be safe.
 
"We had a lot of discussions as soon as that was released," Ploof said. "So the whole network of zoos and aquariums under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is talking to figure out what protocols we need to put in place to protect those animals. Things like adding extra personal protective equipment, or adding extra masks, adding extra foot baths, extra cleaning protocols and even social distancing with the animals is something that has all been discussed and is being implemented now. Especially with the big cats, but also we're looking at other species around the zoo to see which ones are more susceptive to the virus and acting accordingly."