Enrichment and Animal Well-being Internship

Toledo Zoo • Toledo, OH

5d

About The Position

The Toledo Zoo Animal Behavior and Wellbeing Internship is a paid, hands-on opportunity for college juniors or seniors and recent graduates interested in careers in zookeeping, animal behavior, animal welfare, enrichment, or behavioral research. Interns work closely with the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry & Wellbeing, the Enrichment Program Assistant, and animal care staff in a professional zoo environment.

The internship provides experience designing and implementing environmental enrichment to encourage natural behaviors, observing animals and assessing their wellbeing, learning positive-reinforcement training and behavior shaping, and developing and carrying out a behavioral research project. Interns analyze data and share findings with animal care teams. Additional work may include setting up enrichment in animal habitats, developing enrichment ideas, assisting with wellbeing assessments, and possibly helping with public interpretation of enrichment and training sessions.

The schedule is 28–35 hours per week from January through June 2027. The position is offered for four or six months.

Requirements

• Be a junior or senior in college, or a recent graduate.
• Major in Biology, Animal Behavior, Psychology, Zoology, or another related field.
• Strong willingness to learn, a positive attitude, and a team mentality.
• Previous hands-on work with animals.

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel.

Responsibilities

• Develop, coordinate, and implement daily enrichment for several species in the zoo.
• Construct, implement, and evaluate new enrichment devices.
• Conduct behavioral observations.
• Enter and analyze data.
• Assist keepers in setting up exhibits to provide dynamic, complex experiences for animals.
• Participate in animal training sessions.
• Develop and carry out a behavioral research project, analyze its data, and share findings with animal care teams.
• Potentially assist with public interpretation of enrichment and training sessions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern