Zookeepers take care of animals in zoos, wildlife preserves and theme parks. Care includes daily feeding and exercise as well as training, habitat maintenance and health monitoring. Two- or four-year degrees in biology or animal science are typical requirements to become a zookeeper. A passion for animal care is a common motive to get into this career, but it helps to understand potential drawbacks as well.
Animal Interaction
If you like animals and feel pride in caring for them, a job as a zookeeper offers as much direct animal interaction as any career. You feed, bathe and play with animals on a daily basis. Monitoring and addressing animal health issues become your responsibility. Your expertise can make the difference between an animal dying or receiving necessary help. While not all animals show affection and appreciation, some do.
Job Stability
While pay is typically modest for animal care workers, including zookeepers, job stability is a benefit. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects above-average job growth of 21 percent for zookeepers through 2018. Zoos and wildlife preserves typically grow as governments develop conservation programs and fund projects to protect endangered species and promote captive management of animals in response to changes in their natural habitats.
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Hard Work
Being a zookeeper is much more difficult than caring for the family pets. You'll spend much of your day on the move, lifting equipment or food pails, moving animals and cleaning habitats. Animals require care whether rain or shine, hot or cold. Night, weekend and holiday work are also common, because animals don’t take the day off, and many zoos are open year-round and into the evening. Dirty and muddy conditions are prevalent as well.
Danger
Zookeeping is dangerous work too. Animals have temperaments, just as people do. If you catch an animal on a bad day, you're liable to get bitten, clawed or kicked. Animals become sick and spread diseases as well, and zookeepers work in close quarters with them. In extreme cases, animals have killed zookeepers. In June 2013, a tiger killed a 24-year old zookeeper at a wildlife preserve in the United Kingdom, one of several mauling incidents in zoos.