Zookeeping

I’ve never personally seen a cat just roaming loose in any zoo, and I’ve been to a lot of them. Many AZA accredited zoos don’t even allow peacocks to free roam inside of them anymore. Feral cats spread distemper, rabies, and other diseases that wild animals are susceptible to, let alone the risk of them getting in to outdoor aviaries and killing rare birds.

There’s also a clear and obvious risk of any predator quickly turning an errant cat into an “enrichment item.” A kitty in a bear pit or a wolf pen wouldn’t last long. So yeah it should go without saying that you shouldn’t allow free roaming feral cats to hang out in your zoo.

I think putting it back in the nest was a good choice. Obviously, that doesn’t guarantee its survival, but it gives it the best chance without bringing it into human care.

Baby bunnies are time intensive to raise and many rehabilitators won’t take them because they take resources away from less common wildlife that are more likely to be successfully released, from what I understand. Putting it back means that if mom comes back to the nest - which isn’t guaranteed after a predation event - it’ll be there for her to find. It’s hard to think that it might have still died, but in those cases, there’s very little you could have done to help. I know people will say take it to a rehabber if you can find one, but that’s also not guaranteed that they’ll take it or that it’ll survive, and then you’ve removed any chance it had if you’d put it back.

If you see smol birbs with few or no feathers on the ground, you can safely put them back into their nest, bird parents will still care for them.

scruffy feather bird = starting to try the fly thing, not very good at it. only put in nest/branch if predators abound, i.e. you have four outdoor cats and they’re licking their chops.

Ditto was rescued as a stray that was hanging around my apartment complex last year, September 2017. She was estimated around 10 months & had already had a litter of kittens. We got her spayed & vaccinated & fell in love with her. Unfortunately, we already have a cat & despite a year of working with both cats, doing slow introductions, building up tolerance to seeing each other, and working with a behaviorist, they’re not gonna get along – Ditto is cat-aggressive & tries to attack our other cat as soon as they’re in the same room. Since other kitty was there first & we need to keep her safe, we need to find a home for Ditto.

About Ditto:

- very people-focused

- high energy & loves to play

- good at downtime when given regular playtime

- favorite toys include packing paper, ball tracks, ping pong balls, feather wands (particularly Easyology Kittystick), and her cat wheel

- sleeps well at night

- not terribly cuddly, but will sometimes make an exception at night

- LOVES to climb!

- loves to scratch appropriate surfaces – sisal rope towers/cat tree legs & cardboard scratch pads

- talks a lot & makes lots of noises

- partially harness trained, but very nervous about Outside (after all, lots of bad things were out there)

- eats both wet & dry food currently, would be very happy to eat all wet food

- has no known major health issues; crooked tail & a missing dewclaw toe (left front paw) were both determined to be congenital by a vet & not due to trauma

Her bad habits include shredding toilet paper and plastic bags that contain food, and climbing into cupboards. We just keep the first couple things away from her & have mostly resigned ourselves to the second, but child locks would likely do the trick if you want to keep her out!

Requirements for adopting:

* indoors only, outside only on harness or in catio

* NO declawing

* must have a vet reference

* no other cats or dogs in the home

- other pets are fine, but must NOT be within reach of Ditto – she is quite prey-driven & will chase/attack

- only older kids – Ditto has gotten much better about not biting or using claws, but is not tested around kids & not likely to be terribly tolerant of inappropriate petting/handling

- must be able to provide 1-2 play sessions a day

- willing to include at least one meal of wet food a day

- must have:

        -  at least one 6ft cat tree (prior to adoption)

        - multiple scratching options (cat tree, cardboard scratchers, etc.)

        - minimum of 2 litter boxes

        - ability to ensure vet appointments (wellness & emergency)

        - hard sided carrier for transport

Specific sites, no, but the good news is that rats are easy to keep and there’s a lot of good care sheets out there.

Debbie the Rat lady has some good info

….but then from other angles

Yes, it’s an awesome and desirable job, but where people desire to work there will be a lot of competition. Here’s a start up guide on becoming zoo staff.

What many people neglect to understand is there is more to zoo life than zoo keeping. Zoo keeping and animal training are arguably the most difficult and competitive careers to get into because- let’s face it- damn near everyone wants to be a zoo keeper. Zoo keeping may also not be for everyone! I tried it and I decided it was not for me. For those of us like me, you can also try other things, such as the education department or guest services. There is a whole slew of other jobs out there.

In order to work in a full-time position at an AZA accredited facility, you need a MINIMUM of a 4 year degree in an animal or psychology related science. I am currently studying Conservation Biology which focuses on techniques to prevent extinction. For zoo keeping, you also will need a MINIMUM of a year’s paid experience, though I’m finding that two years is becoming more and more common as a requirement. 

Let’s think about that for a second. The basic requirements that you have to meet is a college degree and paid experience AT THE LEAST. Remember how I told you how zoo keeping is super competitive? That means everyone that applies has at least those requirements. Now, I’m not sure about other bigger zoos, but my dinky city zoo had over 500 people apply for an entry level zoo keeping position. 500 people had met the minimum requirements. So now what?

Many people think that a good education is the only important aspect of getting into working at a zoo. That is where people go wrong. A degree levels the playing field but by no means will that help you stand out to potential employers. If you truly want to explore the zoo as a possible future career, you need to start volunteering yesterday. Oh shoot, you forgot to apply? well get on that ASAP! Volunteering is the most important part to opening your future.

I meet college interns every year who think they are a shoe in for a zoo keeping position because they decided to start volunteering “so early.” I feel bad for those types because what they don’t realize is the woman in front of her has been there for a year, and the woman next to her has been there two years and so on. Volunteering is crucial but you can’t wait until the last minute. If you want to look good in the future, start now. Four (out of 25) of the zoo keepers I know got their position because they had been volunteering since they were 13-16. 5 other zoo keepers were volunteering in some other capacity at the zoo for years. 8 out of 14 of the education staff were volunteers before being hired. That’s almost half of our hired zoo keeping staff and more than half of ed staff. The reason volunteering is so valued is because zoo people like to hire within themselves. Hiring from previous volunteers is very common because it allows employers to judge whether or not they would work well with that individual. It also creates networking opportunities and allows for you to show your worth. Interviews and resumes are great- but ineffective in accurately judging the potential employee. Additionally, volunteering allows you to figure out what capacity of the zoo you enjoy working in. As I mentioned earlier, I tried zoo keeping and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. So here I am as education staff.

By volunteering you can show how dedicated you are, or, aren’t in some unfortunate cases. You can create connections and build relationships with your employers while also learning about yourself as well.

1. Join AAZK , or similar professional groups. If you can find a local chapter great! If not join national for their benefits which include a monthly animal keeper forum magazine, transcripts of previous conference posters and papers, and even discounts to awesome things like San Diego Zoo Global.

2. Attend workshops, seminars, or conferences. AAZK, AZA, TAG, ZAA etc all hold various conferences throughout the year. There are also tons of training based ones, or species/order specific ones.

3. Volunteer/intern: wanted to add if you don't have a zoo near you, look into wildlife rehab, aquariums, farms, horse stables, domestic animal shelters, outreach facilities etc etc. Make sure you are comfortable with their ethos and reputation, not all places are necessarily a benefit to your resume. AZA lists internships on their website as well.

4. Other: add some desirable skills by self researching or taking classes at school regarding: Psychology Animal training, positive reinforcement Plant taxonomy Woodshop, or construction Autoshop, or metal work etc Weightlifting Public speaking Interpretation Etc!

Also don't be discouraged, it is competitive, keep applying and improving and be open to other positions within a zoo as well.

Zoos help, support, and lead conservation efforts. In doing so they save species from extinction. #BringBackTheWild