I need to know a bunch of stuff about working with penguins?

Question

I think penguins are the cutest animals i have ever seen!!!! They are sooooooooooooooo cute!!!

Anyways when i get older i think it would be so fun to work at the zoo and feed and take care of the penguins!!!

So i have a bunch of questions!

1. How many years do I have to go to college? Or is there a special penguin college?

2. If I work at the zoo can I only take care of the penguins or do I have to take care of some of the other animals too?

3. What exactly do you do if you work in the penguin section at the zoo? I know you feed them and clean up after them but anything else?

4. Would I be able to take care of the baby penguins(the cutest baby animals in all the universe) and do you have to learn even more to take care of the babies than if you woulda just taken care of the adults?

5. Are penguins like dogs and cats, do they start to love there caretaker once they've been around them for a while?

6. How much money would I make taking care of the penguins at a zoo?

Well, thats all the questions I can think of for now!

And only serious answers please!

Answer 1

1. It will depend on the requirements of where you work. You'll at least need a Associates degree,  though a higher degree would be better.

2. You might be able to get a job with just the penguins, you might be working with birds or in an arctic section, or you might not have a choice where you work.

3. Monitor their health. Educate the public. I don't know what else. Do some research, contact a zoo or aquarium, or contact someone who works with penguins.

4. I don't know. I would think that you would be able to. It might depend on where you work. Do some research, contact a zoo or aquarium, or contact someone who works with penguins.

5. I don't know. Do some research, contact a zoo or aquarium, or contact someone who works with penguins.

6. I don't know. Probably not much more than minimum wage. Do some research, contact a zoo or aquarium, or contact someone who works with penguins.

Some more info....

Some degrees you might want to look into are:

Zoology/Ornithology/Avian Sciences/Avian Biology

Zoo Science/Technology

Animal/Exotic/Wildlife Management and/or Training

Animal Science

Wildlife/Exotic/Zoo (biology, care, ecology, conservation, education, etc)

Ethology/Animal Behavior

When looking in to colleges see if there are any courses offered related to Avian. What internships do they offer?

Along with a degree you'll need experience with animals. Start getting some now, before college. For example, volunteer at a bird rehab and start learning about birds and how to handle them.

Talk to your career counselor at school for advise. Mine gave me advise on places to volunteer (a local bird of prey rehab), colleges (the near by Moorpark College and it's teaching zoo), and possible jobs to think about.

Here's an example of what you could do...

Get good grades in High School and volunteer somewhere where you can work with or around animals. Go to Moorpark College and do their EATM program. Get an Associates degree and complete lower classwork there while learning about zookeeping, how to educate the public, etc. Then transfer to Cal Poly or UC Davis and get your Bachelor's degree in Animal Science. Then get an M.S. degree in avian sciences at UC Davis. After that see about an internship or volunteer work with penguins. Then see about getting a job with penguins.



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What do you need to do to become a zoo keeper and how much will you get paid thanks?

http://animalscience.calpoly.edu/areas_o...

http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/academics/...

http://aviansciences.ucdavis.edu/program...

http://www.caes.uga.edu/academics/underg...

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/aa/aa...

Husbandry

Penguin Exhibit

Assist Husbandry staff with cleaning, feeding and exhibit maintenance of the penguin display in the Splash Zone exhibit. Assist with all tasks required to care for the penguins and the exhibit including: food preparation, feeding penguins, scrubbing and cleaning floors and rockwork, observations and record keeping.

Must have a strong interest in working with penguins and must be tolerant of "dirty work,” guano and the occasional bird bite. Prior bird handling experience a plus but not required. Must be able to climb around the exhibit, stoop, bend and lift.

Requirements:

Length of Time Commitment

Minimum one year (12 months) commitment (with option to continue) following completed probation of 4 shifts. One 2½ hour shift per week. Shifts are 9 am - 11 am each week.

http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_splash/spl...

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/media...