lilu-the-almighty asked:

Hey there!! I noticed in one of your asks you said you needed 2-5 years of animal care experience to qualify for a zookeeping job. As someone who’s thinking about zookeeping as a career path, I was wondering if working at a ranch handling and caring for horses, cows, goats, fowl, etc would count for that experience, or if you would need to get those years working specifically within a zoo in volunteer type work?

I can’t say definitively because every place is going to have slightly different requirements, but I would say it’s more likely to secure you an internship than a job.

In my experience, the ideal background that most AZA accredited facilities are looking for for beginning keepers is previous experience as interns at other AZA facilities and conservation partners around the world. If you have the opportunity to do work abroad, I highly recommend it.

That being said, having any kind of animal care experience is great. Rehabs, sanctuaries, etc all teach valuable skills that we use every day.

Volunteering is also a great way to learn more about a facility you are interested in, their goals/mission, and (most importantly) the animals!