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 Homepage

How to Become a Zookeeper: A Fun Career That Makes a Difference

To be a zookeeper, you need a serious love for animals, a set of specific skills and a broad understanding of wildlife and conservation. 

Competition for jobs in the zookeeping industry is stiff, so you’ll need to lift your job application game. Studying an animal care course will help boost your job prospects.

Find out more about a role as a zookeeper, whether the job is right for you and the best way to get into this exciting and fulfilling role.

zookeeper
  • Overview
  • How to Become
  • Pathways
  • Qualifications

Zookeeper job description

info Where we source our data

Let’s get real. Job information online can often be overly optimistic — conveniently glossing over the raw bits. But when you’re making decisions about your future, you need all the facts.

That’s why we anonymously surveyed Zookeepers about their job, with hopes of getting an honest insight into what it’s really like.

While we did our best to ensure respondents were Australians and verified their job titles with proof of employment, we can’t guarantee complete accuracy — or that your experiences in the field will reflect theirs. So, we suggest that you take these insights as a guide only and try to talk to people in the field before making an important decision.

Zookeepers look after animals at the zoo, ensuring their health and happiness. A zookeeper provides animals with food and water, cleaning their enclosures, and assessing the animals’ health. They train animals to be comfortable with human contact to minimise risk of injury, both for the human and the animal.

Tasks and responsibilities for a Zookeeper

Zookeepers work with captive animals, have a thorough knowledge of different species and habitats and ensure that the zoo animals are thriving in their environment.

A zookeeper duties include:

  • Feeding and watering animals
  • Cleaning enclosures and disposing of waste
  • Conducting health assessments as well as primary care for sick or injured animals
  • Performing pest control procedures
  • Educating and assisting zoo visitors
  • Assisting in breeding research programs

How to become a Zookeeper

Your dream zookeeper job doesn't require a formal qualification, but your job application will be much stronger if you have some experience or undertake study beforehand.
  1. Volunteer

    Volunteers play a pivotal role in the zoo environment. Offering your time on the weekend or outside of your regular work hours can give you direct skills and knowledge and open you up to job opportunities if they present themselves.

  2. Enrol in a short course

    There are a few courses you can complete to give you that extra edge. A certificate in animal studies or captive animals can arm you with many of the skills you need day-to-day in a career as a successful zookeeper.

  3. Study a degree

    Once you have an initial qualification and have had some work experience as a zookeeper, you might want to take on further study. A bachelor’s degree in zoology, wildlife conservation, veterinary nursing, biology, or other animal-related courses can offer opportunities to specialise in specific areas within the zoo. It might also allow you to work in other animal care fields.

Pathway options

info
Job pathways are drawn from the Australian Apprenticeships Pathways site.

Your first zookeeper position can introduce you to many career opportunities. With a few years under your belt or further study, you could find yourself in various related roles.

 

Some pathways could be:

Junior

  • Animal attendant

    Most common qualification: Certificate III in Animal Care (ACM30121)

  • Apprentice animal trainer

    Most common qualification: Certificate III in Animal Studies (ACM30117)

Mid

  • Wildlife carer

    Most common qualification: Certificate III in Animal Care (ACM30121)

  • Animal trainer

    Most common qualification: Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services (ACM40317)

  • Zoologist

    Most common qualification: Bachelor degree in Science, Zoology, Biology or other animal-related disciplines

Senior

  • Senior keeper

    Most common qualification: Certificate IV in Captive Animals (ACM40217)

Explore related qualifications

Zoology Certificate

Study method Online

This short course (typically 8–20 weeks) is designed for animal lovers, aspiring zookeepers, or those interested in wildlife conservation. It covers the basics of animal biology, behaviour, and care, and is ideal for anyone looking to start a career in animal care or explore a personal interest in zoology. Most courses are flexible and can be studied online.

Read More

4 providers offer this course

Learning Online
Online Courses Australia
Ulleo
The Career Academy

Related subjects

Working with other living things in a caring and empathetic capacity can come in many shapes and sizes. In many sectors, there is a need for people who want to make a positive difference. Some other subjects to explore:

Animal Care
Animal Care
Animal Science
Animal Science
Veterinary Nursing
Veterinary Nursing

Related articles

By now, you know a lot more about a role in zookeeping. If you feel like this career is for you, you can dive into this catalogue of resources in the animal care industry to help you on your way.

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Reviews

info How we collect reviews

Reviews are from Australian workers with this job title or a very closely related one.

Is this your job title?

Share your thoughts and help people decide if this job is right for them.

Leave a Review

  • All
  • Positive
  • Negative
Jarrod
Aug 23 2021

Hard to progress in the role but love informing the public about the animals

What are the best parts of the job?

Working with animals and seeing how your actions directly affect the animals you work with. Being able to communicate to guests about the threats, etc. to animals in the wild, and things they may be able to do to reduce those threats or their impact on the wild.

Read More

What's the most challenging part?

Career progression. It is very hard to transition into either management or senior-keeping positions unless you have a great relationship with your manager/supervisor.

Read More
Qualification No qualification
Experience 3-5
Organisation size 200+ employees
Specialisation Reproductive biology
Pamela
Aug 23 2021

Fulfilling job where you're improving lives of animals and working with like-minded people

What are the best parts of the job?

Feel you can improve the lives of the animals under your care, developing a close connection with the animals, being part of a team of people that love animals. Every day is different.

Read More

What's the most challenging part?

Being in a fulfilling but low paying job. Being appreciated and heard by management. Finding a job in a big city can be very competitive and not enough opportunities, is better to look for regional roles. It’s a very physical job for a full time position.

Read More
Qualification Cert III
Experience 1-3
Organisation size 5-19 employees
Lainie
Aug 24 2021

A zookeeping career is tough, but very rewarding

What are the best parts of the job?

A deeply fulfilling field. You'll gain exposure to so many different kinds of amazing animals, and work with others that share the same passion. My team is so motivating and I really enjoy learning from them every day.

Read More

What's the most challenging part?

Getting started in the industry is a challenge for many, but having a supportive team has helped me to get through it. A big challenge that throws off many entry-level zookeepers is the amount of non-animal work you end up taking on, like education and admin work, as well as food prep and enclosure maintenance.

Read More
Qualification Cert III
Experience 3-5
Organisation size 5-19 employees
Ryan
Aug 25 2021

A great career where you're exposed to many different animals on the daily

What are the best parts of the job?

Being about to care for so many different animal species, as well an endangered animals is a very unique, gratifying part of the gig.

Read More

What's the most challenging part?

The early starts can be tough for someone that isn't a morning person!

Read More
Qualification Bachelor’s degree
Experience 10+
Organisation size 200+ employees
Henry
Aug 25 2021

Building relationships with animals is very special

What are the best parts of the job?

Zookeeping is a great taste of what it's like working with animals. Mentorship from senior keepers is so valuable, and getting to build unique relationships with animals is very special.

Read More

What's the most challenging part?

Breaking into the industry can be a challenging experience, but with the right study and work experience, you'll be well on your way to becoming a talented zookeeper.

Read More
Qualification Cert IV
Experience 5-10
Organisation size 5-19 employees
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