Animal Care Volunteer

Animal Care Volunteers

What you may do:

Actively observe animals’ behavior.
• Cleaning of the commissary.
• Prepare daily diets and maintain accurate records of assigned animals.
• Gain knowledge with mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish identifications.
• Assist with maintaining back of house areas.

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

How this will help us:
The animal care teams are constantly evolving and welcoming new species and opportunities to enhance our animals’ lives and the guest experience. Having dynamic and driven volunteers join our team will ensure and promote effective and efficient care of the department’s animal collection.

How this will help you:
Several valuable hands-on skills will be taught including disease management, animal nutrition, live food preparation, and much more. Animal care volunteer opportunities may help prepare you for a career in animal husbandry and many zoology, biology, or science related fields.
There are two main departments within Life Sciences: Aquatics: Fish and Invertebrates and Keeper: Birds, Mammals, and Reptiles. The departmental teams, with a short description, are listed below:
Team Opportunities:
• Aquatics Team: Fish and Invertebrates
o Aquatic Holding: As an aquatic holding intern, you’ll assist in the care of a wide variety of aquatic animals who may be housed in this special area (sometimes referred to as our “animal hospital) for additional observation, medical care, or are new to the facility. Interns on this team will gain a diverse knowledge of quarantine methods, biosecurity protocols, and safety procedures for feedings and water quality adjustments.
o Jellies: As an intern on the jellyfish and live food organism team, you’ll learn about jellyfish biology, development, and captive care, develop aquarium and aquaculture skills, and become familiar with the inner workings of public aquariums.
o Natives and Amazon: While interning with the Natives and Amazon team, you’ll work with a diverse range of freshwater fish such as sturgeon, alligator gar, giant Amazon arapaima, freshwater stingrays, giant catfish, and coastal invertebrates such as horseshoe crabs, southern spider crabs, and left-handed whelks. Interns will gain a vast knowledge of fish identification, aquatic exhibit basics, animal training for feeding and procedures, and life support systems to prepare themselves for future careers.
o Marvels of the Deep: While interning with “Marvels”, you will be trained and may interact with large predatory sharks, stingrays, giant Pacific octopus, Spider crabs, seahorses, and live corals. Several valuable hands-on skills will be taught including water quality, fish identification, disease management, animal nutrition, and live food preparation.
o Shipwreck/Connector: As an intern on the Shipwreck team, you’ll assist in the care of a wide variety of tropical saltwater animals including sea turtles, sharks, and stingrays. You’ll learn how to prepare animal diets, understand target feeding, how to collect and track water quality data, and assist in cleaning the exhibits.
• Keeper Team: Birds, Mammals, Reptiles
o While interning with the BMW team, you may be trained and may interact with river otters, alligators, black bear, hellbenders, owls, snakes, beaver, salamanders, bats, and turtles, among other animals. The typical BMW team member’s day consists of a lot of cleaning, dealing with biosolids, and chemical odors. There may be times when an intern assists the BMW team with animal training, watches a veterinarian procedure, and interacts with guests.

Skills & Experience:
• Volunteers must be 18 years or older
• Self-starter
• Detail-Oriented
• 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:
Animal Care Volunteers are required to work at least one 4-hour shift per week. There are daily opportunities with back-of-house shifts starting at 6 pm and ending by 3 pm.
Please note that not all volunteers will be accepted and while your team preference will be considered, it does not guarantee placement.

Fun Fact about the Department:
Jellyfish raised in captivity have little stinging ability compared to those in the wild allowing staff to touch jellies with their bare hands.

Volunteer Services Contact Info:
Phone: 417-709-3900
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.wondersofwildlife.org/volunteer/