Summer Intern: Small Animal Building (Mammals and Birds)
Utah’s Hogle Zoo is currently accepting applications for an internship with their Small Animal Building Areas. This internship is geared towards college students and recent graduates who are interested in playing a direct role in caring for a variety of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians. All applicants should be organized, self-motivated and have excellent people skills. This internship is an in-depth program requiring a 40 hour per week commitment for 12 weeks. Interns must be flexible with their schedule, and have the ability to work weekdays, weekends and holidays. It is an unpaid position and there is no housing provided. All internship positions are on a voluntary basis only. Housing, travel expenses and transportation are the responsibilities of the candidate.
REPORTS TO: Small Animal Building Husbandry Staff and Supervisor/Curator
DATES: Summer May 26- August 15, 2020 (start and end date may be flexible based on school schedule)
POSITION DESCRIPTION:
There are currently three small mammal/bird intern positions for the Small Animal Building in the Temperate Zone, Desert Zone and Tropics Zones. (These are three separate areas and will each have an intern position available.)
* Temperate Zone: interns will have the opportunity to assist with the care of black-footed cats, rock hyrax, and red pandas, as well as a variety of large and small birds in the rainforest exhibit.
*Tropics Zone: interns will have the opportunity to assist with the care of straw-colored fruit bats, burrowing owls, amazon parrots, kinkajou, titi monkeys, and armadillos.
*Desert Zone: interns will have the opportunity to assist with the care of grey wolves, meerkats, short-tailed leaf-nosed bats, sand cats, African crested porcupines, prevosts’ squirrel, and a variety of medium and small birds.
Animal collections may change over time depending on the needs of the building. The selected candidates will assist the Keeper staff in all aspects of maintaining mammal and bird exhibit collections at the Zoo’s Small Animal Building. This internship is designed to provide instruction in the following areas: animal husbandry, nutrition and diets, record keeping, exhibit maintenance, enrichment and training, as well as public education and knowledge of a variety of animals. Intern duties may include the following under keeper supervision (may vary based on skill level and departmental needs):
1. Assist with exhibit maintenance and cleaning
2. Prepare daily diets and perform daily feeding
3. Assist in the maintenance of back-up areas
4. Conduct precise record-keeping
5. Assist with exhibit construction
6. Provide positive and educational interaction with zoo guests
7. Participate in animal enrichment and select training
8. Complete various projects
QUALIFICATIONS: Be currently enrolled in/ or have recently graduated from a college or university. Have a minimum of one year of course work in a major field of study to be applied during the internship (e.g. Biology, Zoology, Environmental Science, etc.). Experience working with mammals and birds is preferred. Applicants should have a strong career interest in animal husbandry. Candidates should be able to lift 50 pounds, need to have a recent TB test and tetanus shot. The applicant needs to demonstrate maturity, self-motivation, and an ability to follow direction. A basic knowledge and understanding of computer word processing and PowerPoint is helpful. The ability to gain and hold a driver’s license is required. They must also pass a background check and a drug test if selected.
WORK SCHEDULE: 40 hours a week for a minimum of 12 weeks. Interns are expected to work on holidays and weekends.
COMPENSATION: The Small Animal Building Intern position is unpaid. Professional development opportunities will be available. Possible college credit is available for those able to receive it through their college/university. No housing provided.
TO APPLY: Applications are due by February 15, 2020. Please visit https://www.hoglezoo.org/jobs_volunteers/internships/ to fill out an application. Applicants will be contacted for interviews at the end of February, please do not expect to hear from us before then.
Please e-mail volunteeroffice@hoglezoo.org with any questions.