Crane Operators Get All The Fun

A story from late last year caught my attention as it gave another example of some of the interesting jobs that crane operators get. The story related to a polar bear that had decided to camp out at the bottom of the 17 foot dry moat. There were stairs leading back to its habitat but it decided it was happier in the moat.

Milwaukee County Zoo officials thought otherwise and tried everything to lure it back to it habitat. They finally decided to call on a crane operator. He called in a 50 ton hydraulic telescopic-boom truck crane. The crane operator lowered a cage filled with tempting fish in an attempt to lure the polar bear in. Once again zoo officials were frustrated – the bear didn’t want any of the treats.

Finally, the zoo vet tranquilized the polar bear. It took ten men to lift the bear into the cage so the crane operator could bring it back up to the bear’s habitat area. For a job, it sure beats lifting timber off a truck. Imagine going home to the kids and telling them you had to lift a polar bear today?

Okay, so those sorts of jobs don’t come up all that often. You would, however, be surprised at the kind of jobs mobile crane operators do have to do. If you think crane operations are for you then contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. ATS is accredited to deliver crane operator training and to conduct formal assessments that will enable you to become a certified crane operator. You may not get to lift a polar bear, but then again, you just never know – the life of a crane operator can be very interesting.