Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm 15 and want to work with reptiles and just started to think about a career but anyway...I was recently accepted into the junior zoo apprentice program at the philadelphia zoo. It is a work/volunteer program all over the zoo including working with very exotic(but not dangerous)animals. It lasts your high school career and on your last year you can compete for the chance to go to africa for free.

awesome! good luck on that... i just graduated from HS myself last friday, so i'm glad i'm out! heh...

Congrats! I've heard good things about that zoo. The closest zoo to me is an hour away... Blech. Not even a good zoo either. Can't wait until I can get a car and drive it (legally...) so I don't have to force the parents to drive me an hour back and forth expecially since the stuff I want to do is early. Only another year and a half... unless they change that law...

That's cool! When I was in High school is South Africa i did a similar volunteer program at my local zoo. It gave me the opportunity to work with animals i could have never dreamed of keeping at home. Stick with it, im sure it'll be an awsome experience.

Mike G.

This will provide some of the most useful and beneficial experiences you will ever have. If it is your desire to go into this field as a profession, you will already be a leg up with your competition when you are older. Just remember, education is power and if you can combine some of the experiences you are going to get at the zoo with a college degree in the biological sciences, you can write your ticket. As a curator of a very successful wildlife center/reptile zoo, I know that I would never have had the opportunities that I have today without the necessary experience accompanied with the academic requirements. Many students your age who have started their "careers" here have since moved on to full time herp careers. My advice....listen carefully, work your pants off, always show respect to your elders, complete a bachelors degree (and beyond if you can) and network, network and network! Rob

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)
www.cityoflakeforest.com (parks & rec section)

That is a great opportunity. There are similar positions at a local wildlife park near me that I participated in a while back. I got to work all around the zoo and it lead to payed positions two summers in a row.
The first summer I did a landscaping job. It is not related to the animals, but I got payed, and got to be around all the animals. The next summer, I got a job, that was previously non-existent, as a Veterinary assistant. It was very interesting and I got to work with all the animals(mostly mammals, but some herps).
When I was volunteering, I got to work with all kinds of really cool herps, some of which are rare. Prehensile-Tailed Skinks, Mata Mata Turtles, Womas, just to name a few. You should really take advantage of this opportunity. This is the type of thing to put on resumes and college applications. You really stick out if you have worked at zoo.
Enjoy your experiences at the zoo. My experiences at the wildlife park were some of the funnest and most memorable of my life. By the way, the wildlife park I am referring to is call Wildlife Safari. It is a "cage-less zoo". There are cages, but most of the animals have free range of 600 acres in Winston, Oregon.
Josh

I say go for it. Many reptiles have a bad rep, and some still hold a mystery. In your travles, if you find out why the Easten Racer changes to one of the three colors, you might uncover something. Just remember, some reptiles are harder to handle than others. Knowledge of how a reptile acts and thinks is important.
Later,
gator_hunter@msn.com