Nashville Zoo-- Animal Care Internships (Spring 2022)
Nashville Zoo is offering opportunities to participate in unpaid internships for Spring 2022 (January-April 2022) in the following animal care departments:
AVIAN
The Avian Department is offering an internship focusing on the day to day care of the avian collection across the zoo. The intern will rotate through multiple areas from large exhibits like flamingo and lorikeet to smaller behind the scenes breeding areas.
BEHAVIORAL HUSBANDRY
The Behavioral Husbandry Intern assists in the care and maintenance of the Ambassador Animal collection and in the presentation of educational animal shows and programs both on and off zoo grounds. This collection includes a wide variety of arthropods, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
CARNIVORE (tiger, clouded leopard, red panda, etc..)
The Carnivore Intern assists in the care, maintenance, enrichment and observation of the carnivore animal collection.
CONTACT AREAS
The Contact Area intern assists in the care and maintenance of the contact area animal collection. The contact areas include Critter Encounters, Kangaroo Kickabout, and the Historic Farm. Each of these exhibits allows for a unique animal interaction, providing guests with one-of-a kind experiences. Much of the day is spent interacting with the public, educating and answering questions.
ECTOTHERMS (reptiles & amphibians)
The ectotherm intern assists in the care, maintenance, enrichment and observation of animals in the ectotherm collection.
HOOFSTOCK (giraffe, rhino, zebra, etc..)
The Hoofstock intern assists in the care, maintenance, enrichment and observation of animals in the hoofstock collection.
Key Responsibilities
- Assist the keepers during the opening and closing of animal areas
- Assist with cleaning of animal areas
- Assist the keepers in maintaining the landscape in and around the exhibit areas
- Assist the keepers in creating, implementing and/or researching animal enrichment
- Assistance with all other projects and duties as assigned
Duration
Minimum of 8 weeks, maximum of 12 weeks
Qualifications
- Must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college pursuing a degree in Zoology,
Wildlife Management, Biology, and other related fields
- Must be willing to study and learn facts, provided by the Zoo, to interact with guests during Zoo operating hours
- Internships require a weekly commitment, minimum of 20 hours a week
- Applicants for these positions must submit an Application Packet, and are required to submit to a criminal
background check as well as show recent proof of a current TB test