Unpaid Animal Care Internship - Primate Canyon

Animal Care Internship - Primate Canyon

Species: Gorilla, orangutan, bonobo, siamang, white-cheeked gibbons, colobus monkeys, spot-nosed guenons, red- and black-and-white-ruffed lemurs, mandrills, Sulawesi crested macaques, and Asian small-clawed otters.

Interns work directly with animal care staff to gain firsthand experience of all aspects of animal husbandry including diet prep, enclosure maintenance, training, enrichment, guest interactions and more. The goal of the program is to provide college students (or recent graduates) with pre-professional career experience through hands-on experiential learning opportunities.

This internship is unpaid but housing may be available seasonally. The program spans 10-12 weeks and participants will be scheduled up to 40hrs per week. Spring internships begin in January and end in May (deadline for application is due Nov 15th). Summer internships will begin in May and end in August (deadline for application March 1st). Fall internships begin in August and end in December (deadline for application due July 1st). Selected participants must successfully complete a background check and TB test.

Intern duties will vary upon season and departmental needs, but could include:

Assisting staff in all aspects of animal care including, but not limited to, diet preparation, exhibit cleaning/disinfection, maintenance, training and enrichment, record keeping, and guest interactions. Contact with class one animals is minimal and directly supervised.

• Actively observing animal's behavior
• Facilitates formal and informal public presentations to engage guests and provide a positive guest experience.
• Assisting with the production of special events, animal celebrations, and awareness days
• Maintaining animal areas, work areas, and all resources in a clean, organized manner
• Completes a special project covering observations, research, enrichment, or another area of interest.

Qualifications:

• Must be a dependable, hard-working college student or recent graduate with an interest in the fields of education, interpretation, environmental science, biology, zoology, or zoo management, or might be considering a change of career.
• Must be able to work between 24-40 hours per week for 10-12 weeks.
• Must be able to work outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Must demonstrate enthusiasm and good judgement while working with zoo guests of all ages.
• Must demonstrate excellent communication skills and the ability to follow directions.
• Must be 18 years or older.

Beneficial Skills:

• Proficiency in Office 365, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Behaviors:

• Team Player: Works well as a member of a group.
• Detail Oriented: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well.
• Dedicated: Devoted to a task or purpose with loyalty or integrity.

Motivations:

• Goal Completion: Inspired to perform well by the completion of tasks.
• Ability to Make an Impact: Inspired to perform well by the ability to contribute to the success of a project or the organization.

Required Education or Experience:

• Completion of college coursework in biology, zoology, animal behavior, or related fields.

Equal Opportunity Employer


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