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Who Wants to be a Zookeeper? A Sneak-peek at Characteristics of Aspiring Zookeepers

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Zooplantman, 14 Sep 2019.

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  1. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    Zooplantman, 14 Sep 2019
    #1
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  2. AmbikaFan

    AmbikaFan Well-Known Member

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    AmbikaFan, 20 Sep 2019
    #2
  3. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    The link has broken, it was ok before.
     
    FunkyGibbon, 20 Sep 2019
    #3
  4. AmbikaFan

    AmbikaFan Well-Known Member

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    I respect Zooplantman's wisdom and was eager to see what he thought as relevant for zookeeper's. Can you describe, Zooplantman?
     
    AmbikaFan, 20 Sep 2019
    #4
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  5. Daktari JG

    Daktari JG Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I can tell you this about being a zookeeper. Its the greatest job in the world-almost. It has everything you could ever possibly want in a career except one minor detail- money.
     
    Daktari JG, 20 Sep 2019
    #5
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  6. Ursus

    Ursus Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Who cares for money if you can have your passion as your job. :p
     
    Ursus, 21 Sep 2019
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  7. Laura W

    Laura W New Member

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    I’m currently in yr 11 and I want to become a zookeeper... how do I go about this?
     
    Laura W, 23 Sep 2019
    #7
  8. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    Zooplantman, 23 Sep 2019
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  9. Youssarian

    Youssarian Well-Known Member

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    My landlord loves when I pay my rent with passion. :)
     
    Youssarian, 24 Sep 2019
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  10. Daktari JG

    Daktari JG Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    At your age there are still things you can do.
    First read about and learn about animals as much as you can. Take any science classes that you can. Nowadays most zoo keepers have college degrees but the other route is to take any job at your local zoo as soon as you can probably when you are like 16-18. This will almost certainly be in a non animal related job- like selling soda or the like. That is still a strong route to being a zookeeper. I could be wrong but from my (granted limited) experience that is a more surefire way than actually volunteering at a zoo. Good luck and don't let anyone discourage you- I knew what I wanted to be in first grade and I was.

    This might help you too
    So You Want to be a Zookeeper? | Saint Louis Zoo
     
    Daktari JG, 24 Sep 2019
    #10
  11. EsserWarrior

    EsserWarrior Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    For years I wanted to be a keeper, but after growing up a bit and gaining more experience, I realized I liked interacting with the public and teaching them about animals, so I decided I wanted to be an educator instead of a keeper. Today I own several smaller species and I plan on making a career of it in the future,
     
    EsserWarrior, 26 Sep 2019
    #11