Animal Care Internship

Its a jungle out there...Why not prepare for it with an internship at the zoo?

Job Description: Animal Care Internships assist the zoo's keeper staff with basic animal husbandry duties. These internships will include data gathering, analysis, and preparation of a final report intended to increase the Zoo's understanding of some aspect of the husbandry, nutrition, behavior, or welfare of wild animals in captivity.

What we offer...
Unfortunately, we cannot offer a salary, but we do offer the following benefits:

• The chance to develop your talents and skills.
• Experience that will look great on your resume.
• A progressive management style that allows interns to take on a great deal of responsibility and provides a supportive, stimulating and fun work place.
• Letters of reference for future job opportunities.
• The Zoo...you get to visit every day!

What you would do as an intern...
Candidates should have career goals consistent with the field of animal care and some related experience with animals. For Animal Care Internships, scheduled "work" weeks consist of five days per week, eight hours per day, which may include weekends and holidays. Animal Care and some Horticulture internships require written documentation of current negative tuberculin skin test and tetanus vaccination.

Animal Care Internships are physically demanding and interns may be subject to a variety of environmental factors. All applicants are advised to consider these factors when applying for these internships.

Depending on the nature of the assignment, routine daily tasks typically include cleaning and hosing of animal exhibits, unloading hay, cleaning buildings and grounds, retrieving or storing bags of grain or salt blocks, pushing or unloading heavy, filled wheelbarrows, and other such tasks. Zoo keeping is a physically demanding profession that involves frequent bending, stretching, climbing into small spaces, and sometimes working in awkward positions. Tasks are occasionally strenuous, and interns must be able to lift a minimum of 50 pounds. Interns may also be required to work outdoors and must, therefore, be able to tolerate extreme weather conditions, including heat and cold, rain, snow, and humidity. Interns are also subjected to strong odors, dust, hay, and animal hair/fur/dander.

Animal Care Internships will include data gathering, analysis, and preparation of a final report intended to increase the Zoo's understanding of some aspect of the husbandry, nutrition, behavior, or welfare of wild animals in captivity.

Animal Care Internships are available in several areas within the Zoo's Living Collection Division:

• Africa
• Cascades Stream
• Marine Life
• Education Programs
• Birds
• Primates

How to apply...
Send your resume and a cover letter that answers the following questions:

• What are your career goals and how would this internship help you achieve them?
• What kind of course work and/or experience do you have that would make
  you a valuable intern?
• In what areas are you most interested in attaining experience through this internship?

From the letters/resumes, we will select interns to be interviewed. Deadline for applications is:

• Fall term August 1
• Winter term November 1
• Spring term February 1
• Summer term April 1

Mail resumes to:
Zoological Curator
Living Collections Division
Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Road
Portland, OR 97221

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