Oregon Zoo Animal Care Internship

Animal Care Internship

It’s a jungle out there...Why not prepare for it with an internship at the zoo?

Job Description: Animal Care Internships assist the zoo's keeper staff with basic animal husbandry duties. In addition special projects can be arranged or designed to meet qualifications for school credit.

What we offer...
Unfortunately, we cannot offer a salary, but we do offer the following benefits:

The chance to develop your talents and skills.
Experience that will look great on your resume.
A progressive management style that allows interns to take on a great deal of responsibility and provides a supportive, stimulating and fun workplace.
Letters of reference for future job opportunities.
The zoo...you get to visit every day!

What you would do as an intern...
Animal Care Internships are physically demanding and interns may be subject to a variety of environmental factors. All applicants are advised to consider these factors when applying for these internships. Zookeeping is a physically demanding profession that involves frequent bending, stretching, climbing into small spaces, and sometimes working in awkward positions. Tasks are occasionally strenuous, and interns must be able to lift a minimum of 50 pounds. Interns may also be required to work outdoors and must, therefore, be able to tolerate extreme weather conditions, including heat and cold, rain, snow, and humidity. Interns are also subjected to strong odors, dust, hay, and animal hair/fur/dander.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities vary depending on the area. Assisting keepers with daily tasks typically include: cleaning animal exhibits and holding areas, unloading hay, cleaning buildings and grounds, retrieving or storing bags of grain or salt blocks, pushing or unloading filled wheelbarrows, diet preparation, record keeping, public presentations, and other assigned duties.

Animal Care Internships are available in several areas within the zoo's Living Collections Division:

Africa
Great Northwest
Marine Life
Education Programs
Birds
Primates
Butterflies

Area Descriptions:
Africa: The Oregon Zoo’s Africa section includes over 200 animals and 34 species including hippo and rhino, African antelope, giraffe, monkeys, small mammals, reptiles and birds, with predators planned for summer of 2009. Emphasis for interns is on general zoo keeping skills, enrichment, helping with training projects and working as a member of a team. Interns work with different keepers each day and are included in most veterinary procedures. Projects can include literature searches or enrichment projects. We have one native conservation project with Oregon spotted frogs and there will be opportunity to learn about the design and construction process at Predators of the Serengeti.

Great Northwest: Interns in the Great Northwest (North America) section will work with native large carnivores, raptors, waterfowl, fish, reptiles and amphibians. They will also be involved in two conservation programs: breeding the endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit and head-starting threatened Western pond turtles. Project opportunities include researching natural history, record keeping, exhibit design for herps, enrichment planning and others according to individual interests and current area needs. Interns will be trained in all three animal routines in the area and then be assigned on an as-needed basis for the remaining weeks.

Marine Life: The Marine Life internship is designed to provide participants with practical learning experience and knowledge in the following areas: animal observations, dietary requirements, care of habitats, filtration and water quality, natural history of marine animals, environmental enrichment, conservation efforts, animal training and public speaking. Interns will be trained to assist keepers in the care of Steller sea lions, sea otters, polar bears, tigers, leopards, sun bears and a variety of Northwest fish and invertebrates during the twelve week internship.

Birds: Oregon Zoo's bird collection includes a penguin colony, a walk-through Lorikeet exhibit and a number of mixed species exhibits with a wide variety of birds. We also have a group of duiker in one of the aviaries. An intern will be trained in all aspects of captive husbandry including cleaning, feeding, enrichment, observation, capture and restraint. There may also be opportunities to observe veterinary practices, incubation techniques and hand rearing practices.

Primates: The primate internship involves working with keepers to care for chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, and several monkey groups. The building' s flooded forest exhibit provides the opportunity to manage fish, reptiles, amphibians, and our lovable agouti. The internship may include observations of animal medical procedures performed by veterinary staff.

Butterflies: At the Oregon Zoo's native butterfly lab, we raise butterflies for release into the wild to support wild populations. The species we are working with are the Oregon Silverspot, Taylor's Checkerspot and Mardon Skipper. All are either Federally Threatened or Candidates for listing. The work in the lab involves observing and caring for larvae, cleaning, keeping records, entering and analyzing data. Since the host plants are also a critical component, interns also may assist with plant care. Interns will learn about the complexities of raising animals for release into the field and working with many different partners. There may also be opportunities for field work related to plant care or releases.

Qualifications:
Preference will be given to candidates pursuing a career in the animal care field, or related. Having some related experience with animals is beneficial. Candidates should also possess the minimum of a high school diploma or GED certificate. The ability to follow oral and written instructions, have strong communication skills and be self motivated is highly desired. Scheduled work weeks consist of 3-5 days/week which will include some weekends and holidays. There is also a 10 hours/week minimum that is required. All internships require a negative tuberculin skin test and tetanus vaccination.

How to apply...
Send your resume, application form, and a cover letter that answers the following questions: (all materials must be included for an applicant to be considered.)

What are your career goals, and how would this internship help you achieve them?
What kind of coursework and/or experience do you have that would make
you a valuable intern?
In what areas are you most interested in attaining experience through this internship?

From the applications, we will select interns to be interviewed. Deadline for applications is:

Fall term (September/October/November): Apply by June 16
Winter term (December/January/February): Apply by September 16
Spring term (March/April/May): Apply by December 16
Summer term (June/July/August): Apply by February 16

Applications for specified terms received after the term deadline will be declined.

Email applications to:
Cathie Roberts

Please put "Animal Care Internship" in the subject of your email.

OR

Mail applications to:
Cathie Roberts
Living Collections Division
Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Road
Portland, OR 97221