The fundamental reason this position exists is to provide animal care through the performance of specific duties in the feeding, cleaning, and general husbandry of the live animal collections of the zoo; due to the nature of work, this position is very labor intensive. The essential functions of this position are: observes animals and exhibits, records animal behavior and condition information on reports, prepares diets, medicates animals as needed, and performs maintenance duties on facilities and exhibits in the zoo. The Zookeeper I differs from the Zookeeper II in that the Zookeeper II is responsible for a specific section of the zoo and is extremely knowledgeable of the animals in that section whereas the Zookeeper I rotates as needed among the different sections of the zoo. Incumbents receive direct supervision from the Zookeeper II, the Assistant Animal Care Manager, the Conservation & Enrichment Manager, and the Animal Care Manager.
High School diploma or G.E.D. and six months of professional animal care experience in a zoo setting or one year of animal care experience as a paid professional, technical employee, or as a supervised volunteer in an organization that buys, sells, or maintains exotic and/or domestic animals.
NOTE: Qualifying education, training and experience that provide the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the job will be considered.