Kid Territory:Jobs: Managing Animal Collections

An animal care manager oversees the day-to-day operations of a specific collection of wildlife, such as birds.

Curators help design animal exhibits, and follow an exhibit’s progress from blueprint to animal release.

Curators often accompany animals that need to travel from one facility to another, but usually not quite this close!

Never tied to a desk for long, curators like to have up-close visits with their charges.

What we do

Curators and animal care managers are responsible for overseeing and managing the specific collections at the San Diego Zoo or the Wild Animal Park: mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. The curators make decisions about which species to bring into the collection (acquisition), and which ones to send to other zoos (disposition). They also create long-range plans for animals within the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and in the wild by working with other organizations and agencies, and they help decide which conservation projects the Zoo and Park will be involved in. Both curators and animal care managers are responsible for the daily care of the animals and managing the keeper staff. They also help design exhibits, make decisions about breeding animals, and write guidelines and policies for the care of animals.

What’s cool about this job

It’s rewarding to know that you are contributing to the health, welfare, and—in the case of endangered species—even survival of animals in zoos and in the wild. There are opportunities to travel to countries all over the world, to study animals in the wild, and to meet with other animal care professionals. And best of all, you’re working with many different species, so there is always something new to learn. These jobs are never boring!

Job challenges

It can be challenging to work with endangered species, since there are so few in the wild and some can be difficult to breed in zoos. Working on conservation programs isn’t always easy—it can be difficult to convince people that what is good for animals is also what is best for them. And because the animal collections at the Zoo and the Park are so large, it can be challenging to keep up with everything that’s going on and manage all the animal care issues that come up.

How this job helps animals

We learn from our successes and our mistakes, and we share that information with our colleagues in other places so everyone’s knowledge of the animals and how to care for them increases, making the animals’ lives better. By caring for endangered species and breeding them in zoos, we can also increase their chances of survival in the wild. In addition, we have the opportunity to teach millions of people about animals and natural habitats with our collections and exhibits, so they will care about them, too.

How to get a job like this

You need to have an interest in wildlife. Read, study, and learn as much as possible about the animals you’re interested in, as well as their natural habitats and the countries that they come from. Get some experience working directly with animals. A college education in wildlife management, zoology, or biology gives you a good background for animal care, and then take management or business classes as well if you’d like to manage collections.