Animal Care & Encounters Internship

Responsibilities

• Preparing animal diets.
• Cleaning and maintaining animal enclosures and exhibits.
• Observing animals and reporting any behavioral changes.
• Maintaining area grounds and buildings.
• Enhance guest experiences by initiating conversations, providing assistance, answering questions, and educating the public about the animals throughout the Farm.
• Explain the rules of the exhibit and animal interactions to guests in animal encounter areas.
• Monitor the public ensuring the safety of guests and animals while assisting with crowd control and flow through interactive exhibits.
• Assist in preparation, selling, and distribution of animal feed for interactive exhibits.
• Assist animal keepers with projects.
• Perform other duties as assigned
• Special Projects (may vary):
• Designing and delivering educational interpretation to the general public regarding animal behavior, habitat and conservation issues
• Develop and implement animal enrichment activities
• Develop and present ideas for positive contributions to enhance the guest experience at the Farm.

Qualifications

• Minimum second-year College Student or recent graduate in Zoology, Biology, Wildlife Management, Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine or related program.
• 3.0 or above accumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale preferred.
• Prior animal care experience preferred.
• Ability to balance multiple assignments successfully.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work independently on daily tasks as well as cooperate with a team.
• Ability to work a set schedule which will include mornings and weekends 3-5 days per week.
• Ability to work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions.
• Willingness to work with a large variety of animals.
• Ability to lift 50lbs.

Schedule & Duration

• Minimum commitment of 30 hours/week for 12 to 16 weeks
• College students are encouraged to seek class credit, but it is not required. Academic requirements for institution credit are the responsibility of the student intern to fulfill.

Salary & Benefits

• Hourly wage ranges from $10-12, depending on experience.
• Gain professional, hands-on experience.
• Enhance personal portfolio.
• Lets you get letters of reference for future job opportunities.

Note

• We are not accepting international students at this time.

Application Details

• Complete Internship Application
• Resume
• Cover letter explaining:
• Career goals and how this internship will help achieve those goals.
• Relevant skills, activities, experience and/or classes.
• School requirements for internship credit (if applicable).
• Start and end dates, and days of availability.
• Two letters of recommendation.

Application Deadlines

• Spring Semester (January-April) applications due by December 1.
• Summer Semester (May-August) applications due by April 1
• Fall Semester (September-December) applications due by August 1