What kind of education and or background does a zookeeper need?
For zookeeping positions, a high school diploma is required. More zoos are now hiring zookeepers with a college degree in a natural science (biology, zoology, wildlife management, animal behavior, marine biology, exotic animal management/zookeeping). While not always required, a college degree is advantageous in the competitive field of zookeeping. However, in the zookeeping field, experience is valuable. You will find it difficult to impossible to get hired as a zookeeper without experience. Some ways to gain zookeeping experience include, volunteering, doing internships, or taking on seasonal or intermittent/temporary zookeeping positions. At Woodland Park Zoo, in order to be eligible for a zookeeper position, you must have two years (approximately 4,000 hours) of paid experience in an AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) accredited facility. This paid experience may include hours earned as an intermittent/temporary keeper. Although zookeeping is not a high-paying career, not is the
