Ambassador Animal Internship 

Internship or Volunteer Opportunity: Ambassador Animal Team (AAT)

What we need:  

Our interns learn valuable hands-on skills, taught by our AAT team, including cleaning animal areas, animal nutrition, diet preparation, organizing and cleaning animal food storage areas, and observing and documenting animal behaviors.

While AAT interns work near our animals, applicants for these positions should not expect direct animal contact, handling, or training on any regular basis.

What you may do: 

While interning with the AAT team, you may be trained and may interact with snakes, turtles, lizards, amphibians, various mammals and birds. The typical AAT team member’s day consists of a lot of cleaning, exposure to the elements, exhibit maintenance, training animals and interacting with education staff and volunteers. There may be times when an intern assists the AAT team with animal training, observes a veterinarian procedure, can participate in special event animal handling and interact with guests.

• Clean and maintain animal exhibits.
• Actively observe animals’ behavior.
• Prepare daily diets and maintain accurate records of assigned animals.
• Gain knowledge with mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian identifications.
• Assist with maintaining back of house areas.
• Prepare and give animal enrichment

How this will help: 

Us: 

The AAT team is constantly evolving and welcoming new species and opportunities to enhance our animals’ lives and the guest experience. Having dynamic and driven interns, or volunteers, join our team will ensure and promote effective and efficient care of the department’s animal collection.

You: 

Several valuable hands-on skills will be taught including disease management, animal nutrition, live food preparation, and much more. The AAT internship is something that may help prepare you for a career in animal husbandry and many zoology, biology, or science related fields.

 Skills & Experience Needed: 

• Intern must be 18 years or older
• Self-starter
• Detail-Oriented
• Must be willing to take direction and ask questions
• Requires walking/standing approximately 75% of the time, sitting 10% of the time, forward bending and crouching 15% of the time, lifting up to 50 lbs.

Availability/Time Commitment:

• Intern must commit to a minimum of 24 Hours per week, with at least one 8-hour shift for a minimum of 10 weeks. Interns must complete a minimum of 240 hours, along with delivering a presentation on an assigned project to the Life Science, Education, and Volunteer Services teams.
• The internship will run from September – December, January – May, or June- August.
• Intern will work early morning hours through the early afternoon, typically 6am until 3pm.

Fun Fact about the Department: 

We have one of the oldest bald eagles in human care.