Hi, First I have no idea if I am doing this right so please bear with me. Also, I am not sure if this is the right forum for this, so again please bear with me. From what I have observed many of you are fellow lover of elephants and i may need your assistance/input/advice (if you are willing). As stated, my passion is elephants. My dream job was working at the Elephant Sanctuary in TN. For a number of reasons that dream has been extinguished after an interniship and short employment at the sanctuary many years ago. My torture is this: I want to make a difference in the lives of animals espicially elephants, however I want to work in a sanctuary -style evnironment=no public, space and freedom for the elephants, non-profit etc. These places are few and far between as you know. Second, usually these places are in very remote areas where my husband can not find work. Third due to a disabled mother I can not leave my region. So, do I try to work at a zoo where the conditions are okay but not ideal? My presence at such a facility will not stop that zoo but I don't want to be a part of the problem. This may be too much of a personal issue for you to get involved in but I am completely lost as to what to do. Recently there have been openings for elephant caregivers at zoos. If I was considered (and its a huge IF with my little experience) is it the right choice? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and I promise this will not be some type of stalker/personal advice columnist type deal. I am simply at a crossroads where I don't even know what direction to look to ask questions. thank you for your time
Som sanctuaries are alot worse than zoo, yes they have more space and less public HOWEVER they rarely benefit the species as a whole. Zoos are often involved in breeding programs and raise funds and educate th public about the plight of Wild elephant. Sme zoos enclosures are far from perfect but the care of the elephants is generally to a very high standard. Zoos where elephants are on public display are under the scutiny of the general public as well as the powers enforcing the laws. Elephant jobs where I am are very hard to come by. I think there may be a total of around 30 elephant keepers in Australia. Also think about why you want to work with elephants other than other animals. In some zoos other keepers believe elephant keepers have a holier than thou attitude because they are working with these animals. For me I enjoyed the mental stimulation that comes from elephants that is not as apparent when working with other animals. Marine Mammals is another one that would suit my brain because it is intensive and often mentally exhausting looking after these animals. When I got back from working with elephants overseas I was unable to score an elephant job, although I'm always still looking so I settled for the next best thing, Education at a Zoo - it is just as mentally exhausting but still very fun.
Is there anything wrong with calling a "caregiver" a "keeper"? The sanctuaries tend to hide reality behind trendy words such as that. Jarkari is correct - there are good and bad sanctuaries as well as zoos. A lot of these sanctuaries are not open to public scrutiny and, in your country, some are not even subject to USDA/APHIS inspection. "Public" are often good enrichment and stimulation for elephants. "Not for profit" is not necessarily a good thing - have you seen the salaries and perks that some members of management pull out of some of these outfits? Nothing personal in this, just trying to give you some more things to consider.
Given what you wrote, I'd say: Don't waste your time (or anyone else's) trying to get a zoo job. I agree with Jarkari and Steve that you should start by looking hard at your motives and assumptions. You apparently are anti-zoo ("a part of the problem") so why work at one? You'll be miserable and in time you'll probably make your co-workers miserable. But beyond that, I cannot think of any zoo that would hire a completely inexperienced person to work with elephants. And as you appear to care about elephants, isn't that just the way you want it? It takes a special kind of woman to be an elephant keeper - and there are many such women and many such keepers. Respect them enough to know that they are well trained and well-experienced professionals. If your want to care for abused animals then get work at the local shelter or animal rescue center. Do not confuse this wish for a desire to be a zoo keeper. It'll only turn ugly
thank you to everyone for your input. I would like to point out that i am not "anti-zoo." Maybe idealistic but I am not against ANY group trying to support animal welfare.
Just a quick search today I found four elephant jobs in the US. But if you really want to work with elephants you have to be willing to move most of the time. Half the elephant keepers I know had job elsewhere on the world before being able to secure a job back here.
If it is not already the case now, it will be in the future that only AZA accredited zoos are going to have elephants (not counting circuses, of course). It is extremely difficult these days to get a keeper position in the AZA without having a bachelor's degree in one of the life sciences. And most people who do get hired at a zoo will likely have to work their way up to elephants from smaller animals, unless they have previous experience at another zoo.
