Full- Time Zookeeper

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: $19.52

Essential Job Functions

Responsible for the daily care and continuous improvement of welfare of an assigned group of captive animals, while contributing to conservation, education, science, and customer service.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Maintains secure enclosures at all timesby using latches and locks, and checking those to ensure animals cannot escape or people enter.
  
• Participates in the care and feeding of the animal collection, which may include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.
• Participates in procedures designed to meet the nutritional needs of animals.This includes preparing diets according to specifications, checking foodstuffs for spoilage, feeding animals according to procedures, recording food intake and making notes on changes, making recommendations for diet changes based on food intake, behavior, and general appearance.
• Cleans exhibits and adjacent public areas to insure sanitary and safe conditions by hosing, scrubbing, sweeping, raking, shoveling, and disinfecting to remove manure, unconsumed food, litter, poisonous plants, and foreign objects.
• Trains other staff, and shifts animals in adjacentstalls, pens, or dens for feeding or cleaning purposes.
• Observes animals for unusual behaviors or appearance, signs of illness or injury, aggression, breeding, births, egg laying, hatching, deaths, and eating habits.
• Maintains daily recordsofthis information and reports problems to his/her supervisor.
• Whenapplicable,
  assistsin the artificial incubation of eggs andhandraisingof young bymaintainingequipment and applyingappropriate techniquesto insure viability, health, and survival of eggs and hatchlings.
• Continuouslymonitors,evaluates, andseeksto improve animal wellness.
• Develops
  objectives,strategiesand tactics to satisfy and enrich the animals.
• Provides approved items and methodsin accordance withzoo policy.
• May serve on the enrichment committee torepresenttheir area.
• Conducts approved, and cooperates with existing, operant conditioning sessions to continuously assess and improve animal wellness through husbandry and health of the animals.
• By assignment of Assistant Curator, attendsveterinarian onrounds through assigned area.
• Assists Curators, zooveterinariansand veterinary staff incaptureandrestraint ofzoo specimens for medical procedures or animal transfers usingappropriate techniquesand equipment.
• Medicates animals according to the veterinarian's instructions toensureadequate health maintenance of the collection including measuring out medication or putting medication in the food or water.
• Notes levels of medication and informs supervisor of refill needs.
• Acclimates animals toexhibits, stalls, chutes, crates,haltersor perches for use in medical procedures, transfers, or educationaldemonstrations.
• Participates in transfer of animals by capturing, restraining,crating, andtransporting.
• Adheres to ZNE Sustainability Policy and incorporates sustainability efforts into daily routines.
• Supports and promotes ZNE conservation initiatives.
• Maintains exhibits, public areas, off-exhibit holdingareasand grounds.
• Monitors heating systems, records temperatures; records operation of equipment, makes minor repairs, uses power tools once trained, uses landscape equipment and machinery once trained,fabricates minor exhibits and enhancements to provide attractive,safeand comfortable exhibits for zoo specimens and public areas for zoo guests.
• Removes snow to provide accessfor staff and animals.
• Interacts with and answers questions of zoo guests by providing information about zoo animals and policies, conducts tours and interviews as needed to meet the education and guest relations needs of the zoo.
• Monitors working laborers and contractors for animal safety andwatchesanimals for signs of stress.
• Checksexhibitsupon completion of work for safety hazards.
• Trains and oversees new employees and volunteers assigned toexhibitareas and/or research projects.
• Allowed to mentor interns.
• Attendssafety training as required.
• Encouraged to attend keeper training and other professional development programs when offered, withsupervisor'sapproval.
• Participates in formal and informal programs to educate the public.
• As assigned by his/her supervisor, conducts andassistsin research projects designed to improve animal care.
• Participates in integrated pest control management as directed by the Pest Control Manager.
• Mayincludesetting and clearing traps, reporting problem areas, and problem solving for exclusion.
• Carries atwo-wayradio as assigned and handles it responsibly.
• Assistsin department record-keeping bymaintainingand submitting daily keeper reports, individual care charts, census forms, enrichment calendars, ASRs/event reports, training logs to ensure consistent, and professional communicationsregardingall aspects of thecollection'smaintenance.
• Usesthis information to compile reports as needed.
• May be assigned to work in any area of either zoo.
• Performs related work asrequiredand/or assigned.
• Inventories andsubmitsrequests for zoo equipment, supplies (including uniforms), feeds, and repair and maintenance materials, to his/her supervisor as needed.
• Ensures that supplies are properly rotated,labeledand stored.
• Participates in departmental meetings and makes recommendationsregardinghusbandry, exhibition, and development of standards and procedures.
• Responsible for informing coworkers and supervisors of operational and/or procedural changes in order to
  maintain goodcommunication.
• Shares skills, knowledge andexhibitpositive attitude, affect, attitude,articulationand affability, which will serve to enhance the performance of co-workers.
• Identifiesandsubmitsrequests for work orders to his/her supervisor as needed.
• Annually submit ideas for evaluation goals, as well as complete set goals in a timely manner.
• May mentor andassistin review of work performance and attendance of interns.
• Completes, at minimum, 4weeksrotation in each of the 5 Animal Care areas.

Physical Demands

• Constantly moves about on foot from one animal area to another.
• Frequently raises/lowers, transports, and positions heavy objects such as bags of grain and bales of hay weighing up to 50 pounds from truck to ground, from ground to barrels or pallets grasping with hands and arms, tomaintainfood stock and supplies.
• Frequently reaches, pushes,pullsand throws objects with hands such as to open and close doors/gates, or deliver feed to animals at a distance.
• Frequently uses good balance to climb, ascend/descend stairs and ladders,worksatop rockwork, and traverses uneven or slippery exhibit terrain to clean enclosures and feed animals.
• Frequently stoops, kneels, or crouches to work, such asto clean,feedorobserveanimals.
• Frequently converses with guests,co-workersand contractors to exchangeaccurateinformation for animal welfare,educationand safety purposes. Must be able to inspect,detectandidentifyanimal health and welfare concerns and safety issues using hearing (radio).
• Frequently inspects,detectsandidentifiesanimal health and welfare concerns and safety issues using, sight (including color identification to see blood in stools), and smell (to detect moldy foodstuffs, change in stools, etc.).

Work Conditions

• Constantly working in outdoor climatic conditions including rain, extreme cold or heat, and humidity.
• Frequently working around moving mechanical parts such as hydraulic doors, fans, pumps, heaters, etc.
• Frequently exposed to and working in close contact with a variety of exhibit animals (including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,fishand insects), animal waste, dander, feathers, hay, dust,allergensand contagious diseases.
• Frequently working around electric fencing.
• Occasionally working in small spaces with loud animals.
• Frequently handling toxic and/or hazardous materials for cleaning enclosures and medicating animals.
• Occasionally working in confined or cramped spaces.
• Frequently working from an elevated position.
• Occasionallyassistin emergencies and cope with high stress situations, e.g., Fire, hazmat, animal incident (Animal Recovery or Crowd Control Unit), human health or injury, natural disaster, criminal incident, resource loss or compromise, or emergencyassistanceto guests as directed.

Minimum Job Requirements

• Bachelors degree or 2+ years of experience working as an animal care professional.
• Must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
• TB tested negative within the last 12 months before starting if working regularly in primateareas andtested every 3 years thereafter.
• Good workhistory.
• Must speak and readEnglish and
  possesswritten and oral communication skills to understand instructions and information of a technical nature.
• Must have a valid drivers' license in good standing and be able to drive a full-size vehicle on public roads.
• If qualified,maybe asked to train volunteers and others in safely working with zoo animals.
• Must have the ability and willingness to enhance the knowledge and skills needed to provide professional animalcare.
• Must have the ability and willingness to function independently and as a member of a team.
• Must have the ability to work for extended periods in harsh climatic conditions.
• Must have the ability to work safely around dangerous animals, chemicals, and around animals with contagious diseases.
• Must have no allergies, diseases, or conditions that would prevent working in any area of the Zoos.
• Must be capable of basic math.
• Must be able to withstand physical hardships associated with duties,i.e.animal restraint.
• Must be able to lift at least 50 lbs.
• Ability to use hand and small power tools.
• Must be able and willing to work weekends, holidays, and overtime.