Class Year: Senior
Hometown: London, Ohio
Internship: Keeper Development Intern
Location: Dallas, Texas
In this blog, I will talk about the special things that an
intern at the Dallas Zoo gets to do! But before I do that, I wanted to share
the things I have been doing in KDS. Overall, I help everyone where they need
an extra set of hands. I have really been enjoying that because I am not in one
place all day and it makes the day go by super fast! I do random things like
change light bulbs, clean cobwebs, and disinfect the fridges. I have also
gotten to do a lot of fun things like walk a goat named Sugar and hold a bald
python named Abe. For those who don’t know me, I used to be terrified of snakes
a year ago and now I am comfortable around them and can hold them with no
problem! The more I am here, the more I get attached to the animals and it is
going to be so hard to say goodbye in August to the animals and to the keepers
who have been doing an excellent job of teaching me everything there is to know
about zoo keeping! Even though I have known everyone for 3 months, I love
everyone, and I am very grateful to have gotten to know everyone as great
coworkers but even better friends.
As an
intern, there are many more things we do besides help take care of the animals
in our assigned section. One of the things that the Dallas Zoo offers is
professional development classes. The classes occur a couple times a month and
they are for us to learn more zoo knowledge! The classes I attended were, Zoo
Nutrition, My First Zoo Job (How to Create a Resume), The History of Zoo
Exhibit Design, Wild Side of Finance, and How to Use ZIMS (Zoological
Information Management System). These classes are super helpful because I will
already have a basic knowledge of how a zoo is run when I get a job as a
zookeeper!
Another thing that us interns got
to do is raise money for a conservation organization. Each semester, the zoo
chooses an endangered species for us to raise money for and to raise awareness
to the public on that specific animal for a week in July. This summer, it was
the vulture! This could not be more perfect because vultures are my favorite
bird! The conservation organization that we are donating to is the Peregrine
Fund. Twice a week, all of the interns would get together and plan out how we
were going to spread awareness of vultures for that Conservation Action Week.
It was a lot of fun getting to know the intern this way and seeing their
creative side come out! During the week of July 6 to July 14, we sold t-shirts,
wristbands, and other goodies. We also had a silent auction where people
donated vulture/animal related objects and a donation wall if people did not
want to buy anything but wanted to donate to the Peregrine Fund. We also had
face painting and a photo booth to get kids to learn about vultures! This was a
great way for us interns to see if we wanted to work for a conservation
facility and for us to see by our actions that we are making a better world for
animals!
The last thing (and my favorite
thing) that Dallas Zoo interns get to do is do “intern swaps.” This gives
interns a chance to shadow other departments that aren’t the ones we were
assigned to. This is super helpful for those who want to see all parts of the
zoo and for those who don’t have a clear idea what kind of animals they want to
work with (like me)! I did a swap in the Middle Wilds of Africa department
which have hoof stock and other animals like Eland, Somali Wild Ass, and Rock
Hyrax. Most of these animals can only be seen on the monorail. I highly
recommend going on the monorail if anyone is visiting the Dallas Zoo! The next
intern swap I did was at the hospital. The animals that they had there were
ones that were recovering from surgery or illnesses and animals who were in
quarantine. Then, I did an intern swap in the Upper Wilds of Africa which
consisted of Hippo, Okapi, Bongos, and more! And yes, Adanna the baby hippo, is VERY cute in person! The last intern swap I did was in
the carnivore department. I got to see how keepers took care of the Tigers, Lions,
Anteater, Otters, and the African Painted Dogs. Everyone in each of the
departments were so welcoming and I got to help them out a lot more than what I
was expecting! For instance, I got to reward Boipelo the hippo during the
training demo and I got to make ice treats for the lions! I loved going to
different departments to see what the interns have been doing the whole summer.
And I hope the other interns have enjoyed their day at the children’s zoo as
much as I have!
I
have loved every minute of being an intern and I will recommend to everyone who
is interested in being a zoo intern to go to the Dallas Zoo! They do a great
job making sure that the interns are treated like an employee and they will
jam-pack all the learning opportunities possible! It has made my summer go by
so fast, but it will be the summer to remember! This internship has made me
want to apply for a job when I graduate because I loved it that much! My last
blog will be about the fun things I have done on my weekends around Dallas! By
the next blog, I will be back in Ohio! Thank you for reading! Bye Y’all!
