Animal Keeper (Various)
About The Position
Animal Keepers at Woodland Park Zoo are essential members of the animal care team, contributing to the zoo's mission of caring for animals, inspiring people, and supporting conservation. This role involves connecting guests with wildlife, educating them about the natural world, and promoting conservation efforts. The position requires attentive daily care, collaboration, guest engagement, and a commitment to saving wildlife. Animal Keepers may support various animal areas based on operational needs, staffing, and their experience, acting as dependable caregivers, collaborative teammates, conservation educators, and flexible learners.
Requirements
- Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in a life sciences field from an accredited four-year college or university.
- Two (2) years of professional experience directly caring for animals in a zoo, aquarium, wildlife park, or managed zoological collection.
- Ability to perform physical work in indoor and outdoor environments and lift up to 50 pounds as needed.
- Ability to work a variety of shifts, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and schedule changes based on animal care and operational needs.
- Must live and work in Washington State.
- Must be at least 18 years old.
- Must have a valid Washington driver's license with a safe driving history.
Nice To Haves
- Paid zoo animal keeping experience for two (2) years at an AZA facility.
Responsibilities
- Provide daily animal care, including cleaning, disinfecting, diet preparation, feeding, watering, animal observations, and habitat maintenance.
- Assess animal health, behavior, welfare, and safety daily; report abnormal conditions or behavior patterns promptly to managers, curators, and veterinary staff.
- Maintain accurate animal records and logs, including observations, diets, medications, training progress, enrichment, and other required documentation.
- Support preventive health care and prescribed treatment plans, including medication administration, physical exams, quarantine procedures, and veterinary support activities.
- Participate in animal training, enrichment, behavioral husbandry, capture, restraint, transport, and emergency response activities using established safety protocols.
- Collaborate with animal care, veterinary, horticulture, maintenance, operations, education, conservation, and guest-facing teams to support safe, high-quality animal care and guest experiences.
- Provide animal information and conservation messages through public presentations, keeper talks, guest interactions, media opportunities, and behind-the-scenes experiences.
- Support exhibit repairs, modifications, animal moves, and exhibit design or implementation projects as assigned.
- Develop proficiency in multiple animal areas when needed to support coverage, animal welfare, and operational continuity.
Benefits
- Benefits and perks that may vary by employment classification, schedule, and eligibility.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
