Working with animals is a fairly broad field with a wide variety of educational areas that can apply. Experience is at least as important as education. (School to Careers-Transcript) Many times it is necessary to volunteer prior to obtaining a paid position or positions require “on the job training” or some kind of hands on experience. (Crosby) My goal is to work as a zookeeper with the baby mammals. Researching how to accomplish this showed there are many different ways to achieve my goals.
There are some ways to get initial experience working with animals that require little or no experience. You can volunteer at local animal shelters, work with animal rehabilitation specialist, work at a humane society, work for a farmer, or work at a pet shop. (School to Careers-Transcript) To work with an animal rehabber you can find someone who works from their home or who works together in a center. (DeVold) These are things that can be done while getting an education.
Entry level positions in zoos, as a caretaker, are hard work but usually don’t require more than a high school diploma. A two year degree or other related education can be helpful. (Guerrero) Caretakers attend to the basic needs of animals. This can include things such as food, shelter, and keeping their housing clean. This position also requires keeping minimal records. These positions can be a stepping stone for the position of keeper or zoo keeper.
“Experience with animals is the most important requirement for keepers…” (Crosby) The job also can require a two to four year degree in biology or an animal science. There are also certificate programs in zoo keeping or exotic animal training or taking enough biology courses can also qualify you.
Specific skills are also needed for a keeper position. You need to have good communication skills to speak with the public and the other people you work with in the zoo like veterinarians, curators, and fellow keepers. Keepers also need to be reasonably fit to lift feed bags and run from animals if necessary.
Keepers have the most contact with the animals. (Guerrero) They prepare the food for the animals’ daily dietary requirements and see that each animal gets the food. Keepers clean and maintain the animals exhibits as well as observing the animals behaviors and keeping records of those behaviors.
The animal observations take up a large part of a keepers day because from those observations you can tell if the animals has any obvious or subtle behavioral changes which may indicate illness or unhappiness. In the wild animals hide it when they don’t feel well so as not to become prey. Keepers need to be excellent observers of behavior. Keepers also need to be good in a crisis as well as able to come up with activities called “enrichment activities” to entertain theanimals which contributes to their overall health.
Many zoos are also becoming more involved in conservation of the animals natural habitat as well as the preservation of endangered species. (Cohn) Around fifty zoos in North America are now involved in more than seven hundred conservation programs all over the world. The reason for this addition to a zoos responsibilities is “If we are going to display wild animals in captivity, we have to do something to protect them in the wild. Zoos cannot exist without animals in the wild.” (Cohn) This puts additional responsibilities on keepers when educating the public. Education then serves a dual purpose, enlisting the publics assistance as well as to raise funds.
Another issue in any position working with animals is the pay scale. As one zoo keeper put it, “I can tell you that you won’t get rich being a zoo keeper. You can make a living at it.” (School to Careers-Transcript) Keepers earn between $15,000 to $40,000+ a year with the median being $17,120 in 1998. (Crosby) In general working with animals does not pay well, but the people in this profession do it for the love of the animals not the salary.
There are dangers involved in being a keeper. An animal could attack. Animals that you would not necessarily think of as dangerous can still hurt or kill you. Zebra kick like a horse does and they bite as well. (School to Careers-Transcript) Ostriches also kick. Bongos have horns and gore. Giraffes kick and have even been known to decapitate a lion in the wild. Keepers are also required to work in all kinds of weather and most of the time work on holidays as well.
Keepers may also become specialized when they either work best or prefer a specific kind of animal. Sometimes you have a preferred animal when you start but that animal may not be available to work with at whichever zoos that you apply to. Aviculture or Ornathology is the area a bird enthusiast would be interested in. There is a wide variety in this field from artic animals to tropical birds, raptors, and even different bill types. (Guerrero)
Herpetology is working with reptiles. This area pays the best due to the dangers involved and the commercial possibilities. Snakes get milked to provide venom for producing anti-venom. Breeding and harvesting reptiles occurs on farms for commercial purposes. Aquaculture is where marine animals are farmed for commercial use to protect ocean populations. Aquarists work at aquariums with underwater creatures and some train marine mammals like seals and dolphins.
Working as a keeper can lead to other careers such as being a curator. A curator manages an animal collection in a zoo or an aquarium. They decide which animals to buy and sell, supervise caretakers and keepers, schedule vet visits, and keep detailed records on each animal. Curators also are experts on the animals so they supervise exhibit designs and organize conservation projects. Curators can also solve problems with the animals, like when an animal won’t mate. They research the details of the animals life in nature to try to recreate it as accurately as possible so that the animals will behave as they would in nature. (Crosby) Doing research and participation in conservation efforts both require travel.
A Curator also needs to have the same skills as a zoo keeper and in addition needs to be a good supervisor. They must have a bachelors degree and many also have a masters degree. The bachelors degree is usually in biology, animal science, or wildlife management. A curators median salary is about $28,080. Almost all curators start as keepers. (Crosby)
My preference would be to work with big cats such as cougars, panthers, ligers, tigers, lions, ocelots, bobcats, leopards, tigons, lynxes, and cheetahs. There are many other animals from different categories that I would like to work with including kangaroos, penguins, zebras, koalas, red pandas, elephants, small birds of prey, marmosets, gibbons, spider monkeys, bats, and toucans. There are many animals I am sure that I am not thinking about but these are the ones I would most like to work with. There are many animals that I would specifically not like to work with as well including reptiles, spiders, rhinos, camels, insects, and a lot of the more aggressive animals. As a keeper you don’t necessarily get to choose but if there are only jobs open in areas with animals that I don’t want to work with I don’t have to apply at those places.
My goal at the moment is to be a zoo keeper dealing with mammals and in particular with the babies. Bonding with the babies is one of the benefits of the job. One keeper said, “I loved my time raising babies and then seeing them do well as adults.” (Crosby) Keepers also say that when you only work with one type of animal they still exhibit new behaviors we can learn from. Although being a curator or even a zoo director has some benefits, including monetary ones, the hands on experience with exotic animals is what attracts me most. My research showed me many different aspects of working with animals that interest me and some that are a little scary, but it has left me excited to explore this new world in person.
Cohn, Jeffrey P. “Working Outside The Box.” Bioscience Jul. 2000: 564. General Science Collection. EBSCOhost. Cayuga Community College Lib., Fulton, NY. 25 Oct. 2006 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/delivery?vid=46&hid;=106&sid;=53a4c454-e8da-41b4-93…
Crosby, Olivia. Wild Jobs With Wildlife.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly Spring 2001: 2-15.
School to Careers-Transcript
DeVold, Ronda. Becoming a Wildlife Rehabilitator. 2003. 25 Oct. 2006 http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/training.htm
Moore, Carole. “From Fur to Tail Feathers.” Career World January 2006: 6-10.
Guerrero, Diana L. Unusual Animal Career Series (Part 12): Animal Keeper, Animal Caretaker, and More. 25 Oct. 2006 http://www.arkanimals.com/ark/uac_animal_career_zoo_keeper_12.html. “Ask the Zookeeper #1084.” 25 Oct. 2006. http://www.careers.iptv.org/askthepro_trans.cfm?id=150
