Becoming a Zookeeper

Approximately 700,000 people visit the N.C. Zoo each year. With this number of visitors comes an excellent opportunity to educate the visiting public about the serious need to conserve our natural resources and to raise an awareness of what wild life needs to survive.

Zookeeping has always been an interesting career associated with working in a zoo; however, it is not always glamorous.

Being a zookeeper requires lots of hard work and dedication to provide the quality of care that animals need. Remember, animals need care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all kinds of weather. Zookeepers are essential to the well being of our animals and to the success of the Zoo.

Unlike most zoos N.C. Zoo is a State owned and operated organization. As a State agency there are certain training and education requirements set by the state that a candidate must meet in order to be considered for a position. Criteria are different for each position.

The N.C. Zoo employs approximately 275 people of which 80 positions are assigned to the animal section. These positions include zookeepers, supervisors, curatorial staff and others responsible for animal care and diets.

All positions are responsible for the care and well being of the Zoo's animal collection. Their daily duties include feeding, cleaning of the holding facility and exhibits, observing animal health and behaviors and assisting with veterinary care. Zookeepers are expected to know the natural history of the animals in their care, what diets they need, what behavior is like in their natural habitats and generally all they can know about the animals in their care. Since animals require care 7 days a week, zookeepers must work on a rotating schedule. This schedule includes weekends and holidays.

Competitve & Rewarding

The Zoo receives between 600-800 applications for zookeepers each year. In order to be competitive, it is recommended that you have:

a minimum of a two year degree in zoo animal technology
directly related work experience

Key Training, Skills and Abilities Required of the Modern Zookeeper

Providing care for exotic animals in a professional zoological park setting has always been part science and part art. While having a certain passion, knack and feel for working with animals has always been important, the technical scientific training and skills needed have grown significantly over the past 20 years as expectations have grown and technology expanded. The following are now considered to be key training, skills and abilities hiring managers look for in zookeeper jobs candidates.

Basic Knowledge of Biology: Zookeepers need to be very familiar with the natural history of all species they care for. In order to make full use of this information they ideally will have studied biology at the college or university level and have a degree in biology, zoology, environmental science or related field.

Zookeepers need to have familiarity with the anatomy and physiology of animals, the significant differences between major groups of animals and how their needs can change seasonally based on their natural history. This is also vital for evaluating animal health, describing medical problems to veterinary staff and understanding basic housing and care needs as well as medical treatment.
Zookeepers need to know and be able to use scientific and veterinary medical terms.
They need to be familiar with vertebrate taxonomy, as they need to understand how classes, orders and families of animals differ from one another. Taxonomy is also key to being able to navigate through the scientific literature, as this is often organized taxonomically.
Some ability to understand vertebrate nutrition is expected, as meeting the nutritional needs of wild animals in captivity is complex and often difficult to accomplish.
Zookeepers should have some background with trends in conservation biology. The ultimate purpose for keeping animals in captivity in AZA accredited zoos is to engage and educate visitors on the threats to wild animals and ecosystems. Zookeepers should know the current critical thinking by international experts on the major underlying problems and solutions for conserving nature.

Animal Behavior: Exotic animals have a natural tendency to hide physical problems as in nature the weak and injured are more prone to being eaten. Also each exotic animal species has its own unique behavioral repertoire and social system.

In order to accurately observe and interpret animal behavior to evaluate physical and behavioral health zookeepers need to have some background in the fundamentals of animal behavior and the ability to find and interpret research that has been published as a guide. Modern Zookeepers also now routinely use operant conditioning training to gain the voluntary cooperation of animals in their care and medical treatment. Knowledge of basic training concepts and experience with training animals is useful

Research and Computer Skills: Most record keeping systems for tracking animal care are now computer-based.

Zookeepers need to be able to create, maintain and use databases.
They need to be familiar with how to perform literature searches
Use email for internal as well as external communication and have other useful computer skill.

Communications Skills: Insuring consistency of animal care through thorough communication with all team members (animal care is a 7 day/wk - 365 day/yr job and therefore must be a team effort) is a critical need. Reliably communicating vital details to other team members who care for animals jointly is a must.

Zookeepers must have:

good "active listening" skills
oral and written communication skills
public interaction/education skills

Zookeepers need to be highly organized and have personal systems for keeping track of information and for their responsibilities.

Teamwork: Working in teams is a key requirement for zookeepers. Working in teams requires respecting and valuing the work and opinions of others. It requires a commitment to the idea that the best solutions are those that come from considering the experience and expertise of all members of the team. Working in teams requires that all members of the team handle their differences in a professional and constructive way and support team decisions even if those decisions differ from their own personal views.

Problem Solving: Zookeepers need to be able to solve problems. In order to do so, especially in a team setting, zookeepers must be familiar with and use problem solving models and/or logic models in order to have a structured approach. Problem solving models insure accurate problem identification, establishing criteria for successful solutions, use proper brainstorming techniques, potential solution evaluation techniques, documentation of solution implementation and evaluation of success.

Basic Mechanical Skills:

Most care for exotic animals involves:

maintaining facilities
the use of specialized equipment
the use and maintenance of mechanical life support systems.

The well-rounded zookeeper can use, maintain, build and even do minor repairs on facilities and equipment. Animal care needs often can't wait until a skilled tradesperson can do them. Zookeepers need to be somewhat self-sufficient in this regard. Therefore some basic knowledge of how mechanical devises work and familiarity with some hand tool use can be quite valuable.

Ability to Work in Difficult Conditions: Zookeepers must work outdoors, year-round in all types of weather. They must also work weekends and holidays, work long hours when required. They are sometimes are required to have or learn specialty skills such as SCUBA diving or rock climbing skills. Zookeepers must be dependable as there are no days when animals don't need care.

Duties and Responsibilities

The N.C. Zoo has three different levels of Zookeepers each with varying job duties and responsibilities:
Zookeeper I
Zookeeper II
Animal Management Supervisor (Zookeeper III)

Want to Know More?

Every wanted to know what it's like to work at the N.C. Zoo?
Are you doing research and need to find out more about a Zookeeper's daily activities?

Check out our 'Day in the Life' series of interviews to find out more.

Africa Plains Zookeeper
Rocky Coast Zookeeper

Related Information

N.C. Zookeeper Travels to Alaska to Study Brown Bear
American Association of Zookeepers (N.C. Zoo chapter)
Volunteer at the Zoo
Internships
N.C. Zoo/N.C. State University Zoological Medicine Residency
Article: Zookeeping as a Career (AAZK)

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N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.

The Zoo is closed Christmas day and during severe weather. Call our information line at: 1-800-488-0444.

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