Animal Care Intern- Summer 2024

Animal Care Intern

Location: Central Park Zoo

Department: Animal

Duration: Summer 2024- June-mid August; 12 Weeks

Schedule: 24-40 hours (3-5 days) per week; 8:30am - 5:30pm on weekdays and 9:00am - 6:00pm on weekends

Stipend: $1100-$1,900 (varies depending on # of days per week) 

Application Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by March 15, 2024; the position may be filled before the deadline. Candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Overview: 

The Animal Care Internship at the Central Park Zoo (CPZ) provides an excellent opportunity for individuals interested in pursuing zoo, biology, veterinary or conservation careers. The goal of this internship is to provide hands-on education and training in animal husbandry. CPZ interns are involved in many aspects of Animal Care including exhibit and enclosure maintenance, diet preparation, animal observation, animal handling (based on experience), and enrichment. CPZ interns will be assigned to a specific area to work in at the Tisch Children's Zoo, Tropics and Polar areas. Interns will be invited to join in professional lectures and training sessions and also have the opportunity to learn about other career opportunities at the zoo. Many of our full-time zookeepers completed an internship prior to beginning their careers at the Central Park Zoo. Working with animals is physically demanding, and therefore employees are subjected to a variety of physical demands and environmental factors; the work is demanding, but extremely rewarding.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Interns will learn daily husbandry and care routines for collection animals including how to prepare diets, identify different species in the collection and their natural history, clean enclosures and exhibits, 
• Interns will learn how to perform behavioral observations and record them
• Interns will learn how to effectively answer questions about the zoo from the public
• Animal Care Interns will occasionally have the opportunity to observe vet rounds if possible but on a limited basis