If your dream is to work in a zoo or sanctuary, you may already have an idea it will entail some dirty work cleaning enclosures and prepping food. And that would be the right idea, but that’s not all it requires. Here are 5 useful skills for your zoo internship you might not have thought of but will definitely come in handy.
1. Carpentry/Tool Use
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Being able to use a variety of tools (power tools, saws, etc.) and having some building experience can be useful in a variety of ways.
Enclosure maintenance/Repair:
Depending on the size and budget of the facility, there may or may not be maintenance staff on hand to deal with enclosure issues like a jammed door or broken platform right away. If you are working at a sanctuary, you may be needed to help repair cages or fencing for the safety of the animals. Having the ability to assist with minor building and repair work will save time and allow you to quickly resolve any issues so you can get the animal back out in the enclosure and carry on with your work.
Building Enrichment:
Enrichment is an important aspect of ensuring the mental and physical health of the animals in your care. While some enrichment items can be bought (like balls or puzzle feeders) it may be necessary for you to build something yourself. Building platforms for animals to climb or sit on, and adding complexity to their living environment, can help do this. You can also adjust it to fit individual animals’ needs, such as lower platforms for elderly animals.
Clearing Debris:
Trees rot or storms come through and all of a sudden you have a bunch of branches in the way that need to be moved. Clearing away this debris is important for the safety of the animals and guests, and that may require the use of power saws to break them down into more manageable pieces. If you can help with this, the job will go a lot faster.
What you can do:
Personally, I wanted to take the carpentry class in high school but was unable to because of scheduling issues and a focus on taking more academic classes to prepare for University. If you can take a class or join a club that lets you get the experience working with tools and building things yourself, I would say go for it. If not, see if anyone in your family would be willing to work on some small projects with you and help you get comfortable using different tools. Family not big on tools? Check your local hardware store and see if they’re running any workshops that you’d be interested in and could apply to your future work.
2. Driving
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I’ve seen many internship and job listings that put a valid driver’s license as a requirement or preference but depending on the facility you work at, experience in specific vehicles might be a plus. At my internship, the ability to drive stick shift was a plus because we could assist with driving the feed truck around. Having driving experience for a variety of vehicles can help you be prepared for driving whatever is at hand right when you are needed. Tractors might be used for moving supplies or large loads and you may be sent out in company vehicles to do supply pickups so feeling comfortable and confident to drive what’s needed is a big advantage.
What you can do:
If you’re a teen learning to drive, or even an already experienced driver, ask your parents, friends, or relatives if they can help you practice with different types of cars (stick/automatic, SUV/truck). Tractors might be trickier if you don’t live in a rural area but ask around in your friend group or community to see if anyone would be willing to show you the ropes on some smaller tractors. If you don’t have experience before you start, don’t worry. See if some of your coworkers would be willing to help you learn how to drive the facility’s vehicles. Order a pizza and turn it into some quality coworker bonding time!
3. Knife handling/ Butchery
Animals eat a lot of different things, and one of those things is meat. To provide for carnivores you may have to butcher some meat. Regardless of personal beliefs, your job is to provide for the animals in your care and if they eat meat that means you need to provide it. Part of that may include butchering things like chickens or donated cow/deer carcasses. Knowing how to safely and efficiently prepare and cut up meat for the carnivores is important for completing your tasks on time. This can include de-feathering chickens or descaling fish. If a large carcass is donated you may need to gut it and cut it into smaller more manageable cuts of meat for storage, and you may need to skin it as well.
What you can do:
If you have farmers or hunters in the family you may already have some experience with these skills but not everyone is going to be able to practice butchering whole chickens or field dressing a deer. An easy place to get started is with fish, whether it’s whole fish from the supermarket or self-caught. Fish require some careful handling (slippery!) but are manageable to practice at home. Remember to take it slow and wear some gloves with a good grip if needed. And don’t forget, you’re still going to need to chop fruits and vegetables for the herbivores and omnivores, so make yourself a fruit smoothie and a salad and tell everyone you’re practicing food prep for animals 😉
4. Weight Training
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Working with animals can be a physically demanding job. You’ll need to be able to carry feed buckets and supplies around and will often need to work through heat, cold, rain, and snow. At my internship, we had to be able to lift at least 50 pounds so that we could carry the bear feed buckets and shift large trays of meat for the carnivores. Other tasks you may need to help with are helping move animals in large rolling cages to other habitats or, as I mentioned above, helping clear and remove debris.
What you can do:
The good news is this is probably one of the easiest skills to work on from this list. A lot of the people I worked with had participated in sports in school (soccer, track and field, baseball) so if you’re part of a sports club you’re already on the right track! If you’re really serious about working out you can join a gym or fitness classes, but if that’s not your vibe no worries! There are plenty of bodyweight exercises you can do at home and free apps and videos to learn from. My advice though is definitely work on your arms and upper body strength so you can lift those bear buckets like a pro!
5. Communication Skills
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As an animal lover, you might prefer the company of animals to humans, but unfortunately, you can’t escape having to deal with that most irksome of beasts, “the public”. During an internship you will likely need to pull some shifts answering phones, working the register for tickets or the gift shop, or leading educational tours. For these reasons, communication and public interaction skills are a must. If you’ve ever had a part-time job you may already have some experience in this area, so don’t worry if your only jobs so far have been retail and not animal-related. They still apply!
What you can do:
For educational tours, you will probably get some instruction on this at your internship but for additional preparation consider visiting a local museum or zoo and joining in on a tour. Take note of how they relay the information (word choice, speed, volume) and answer questions. If they have time after the tour, see if they’d be willing to share some tips or answer additional questions about how to give tours or handle guests. In the meantime, you can work on your public speaking skills through school presentations, soliloquies to your cat, or pretend tours to friends held captive. Whatever you do, practice your speaking and get comfortable with it because even if you aren’t giving a tour, there’s always a chance a visitor will stop you to ask questions.
Did anything from the list surprise you? Or anything you thought was missing? Going into my first internship a few of these I expected but had no experience in (butchering) and there were others I hadn’t thought of (driving). Truthfully, all five of these were things I was bad or inexperienced at, and I wished I could have had more practice in them before my zoo internship. If you’re looking for ways to prepare for an animal career though, I hope this list is helpful and gives you some easy ideas for how to develop these skills before you get that dream internship!
