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If you’re as bewitched by the world by Moo Deng the pygmy hippopotamus and Pesto the king penguin, you might have thought of the question “how to become a zookeeper” at some point or another.

After all, Moo Deng has , and Pesto — but funnily enough, for their zookeepers, it’s just all in a day’s work.

“In the morning, I clean and sweep up fallen leaves,” . “Naturally, hippos tend to defecate in the water, so we have to change the water, feed them, and observe their eating behaviour. I watch the mother eat and play a little with Moo Deng, then let her sleep for a while. In the afternoon, I come back to feed them again.”

A zookeeper’s job bears a responsibility that resembles raising a child.

You’d do anything to keep your child safe, healthy, and at peace, no matter the hellspawn they can be. That’s exactly the string that ties an animal to a zookeeper: you need to have a love for animals, for their care and conservation, and for their well-being.

It may be your dream to work with these animals, but there’s many a road to get there and a zookeeper’s journey — however straightforward — is particularly rocky.

So before you ask how to become a zookeeper, you need to properly consider whether your passion and love for animals is more than enough to weather the downsides built-in with the job.

Moo Deng is a two-month-old pygmy hippopotamus who lives in Thailand with her mother. Source: AFP

The dark side of zookeeping

To start, zookeepers don’t typically get paid well, even if they have a college degree backing them up.

The ; in the UK, zookeepers earn an (US$31,173).

Many end up working extortionately long hours, preceding public holidays and weekends. There’s also the constant risk of health and safety when you interact day-to-day with wildlife species. You will also most likely have to start your career as an unpaid intern or a volunteer.

And then there are the controversies just waiting to happen.

Take Moo Deng, for example.

Everything looks swell on camera; she seems to revel in the spotlight with her moonwalk on soil, munching on stray leaves, and getting soaped up by her zookeeper.

Her TikTok fame even surpasses human influencers, with millions of viewers falling subject to the spell of an adorable creature. Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, where Moo Deng resides, has seen double the lines as people eagerly wait to catch the show in real life.

And just like a celebrity that has to battle the wrath of protruding paparazzi, a double in visitors means a triple in hazards.

Videos made rounds around social media showing visitors throwing things at Moo Deng — bananas, shellfish, even strong splashes of water. Since then, the zoo has implemented a time limit for each visitor and has even set up a livestream to make up for lost time.

The second face of argument: “a lifetime of confinement.”

That was the backlash made by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and a general conversation that has long spread fire between the two sides.

One side of the fence tells you that zoos are a place where endangered species can be protected and bred; the other highlights the sole fact that they aren’t free.

And while Khao Kheow Open Zoo has rebutted their accusations, enforcing that their animals receive appropriate care and treatment for their well-being, the question remains up in the air, clear as day: should zoos even exist?

The late Steve Irwin was a beloved Australian zookeeper and host of the famous children’s show, “The Crocodile Hunter.” He received his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in 2018. Source: AFP

What makes a good zookeeper?

Whether zoos are truly ethical is a continuous debate that isn’t going to change the fact that over 10,000 zoos carrying millions of species of animals will remain in existence tomorrow, in a month, and a year from now.

But that’s exactly why we need zookeepers.

In the absence of their duty, there’s no one to take care of the animals kept within spaces; there’s no one to protect the peace of the living within zoos.

There are plenty of zookeepers who dedicate their lifeline to animal welfare, but 18 years after his death, Steve Irwin remains the most recognisable out of them all.

Irwin was the embodiment of what every zookeeper should be — kind, patient, tender, and devoted to his craft of conservation. His children follow in his footsteps, as do many around the world in his passion for wildlife, and extensive knowledge towards various creatures.

“I think people don’t know how much Irwin did behind the scenes to establish and fund wildlife conservations,” . “His actions matched his words. He saved an enormous amount of animals. He educated, and I think no one could deny his passion. He actually had influence on land clearing, protecting endangered species, and education.”

He’s the embodiment of a wildlife conservationist and contains the heart of what a zookeeper should be.

So, the question remains: how do you become a zookeeper?

The 3-step answer to ‘How to become a zookeeper’

Zookeepers have pursued many different types of majors to supplement their career, such as psychology and ecology. Source: AFP

1. Obtain a bachelor’s degree

in the industry have bachelor’s degrees in fields like zoology, biology, or animal science.

Those with just an associate’s degree or a high school diploma won’t have the door closed on them too — you just need the right experience to prove your expertise to employers.

If you know right off the bat that you want to pursue a zoology major, the was named the #1 university for zoology by .

There’s also the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø of Sao Paulo in Brazil, the for Zoology; in Japan tops the Asia ranks, and Europe has been taken reign by the .

Zookeepers work long hours, through weekends and public holidays, so one must be prepared for the commitment. Source: AFP

The best schools for animal sciences and zoology in the US, according to the :

The best schools for animal sciences and zoology in the UK, according to :

Zookeepers have to learn their way around the more aggressive traits of wildlife animals, dealing with them first-hand. Source: AFP

2. Gain first-hand experiences with animals

For aspiring zookeepers, experience doesn’t start through professional internships in college.

You could be in high school, volunteering at a local zoo, an animal shelter, or an aquarium, whatever is first accessible to you. Many zoos have training programmes on how to become a zookeeper, with some being tailored towards high school and university students.

A spare tip: volunteer at an accredited location. That means you’re looking for marks of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) in the US or the Zoo Aquarium Association (ZAA) symbol for Australasian zoos.

You’ll also want to explore working with different animals, and in different types of positions to find where you belong.

, “You already have a degree with some science background, so you’ll want to find somewhere to start volunteering, as zoos are more likely to hire someone that has proven themselves to be responsible.”

Like any career, making the right connections can help you get your foot in the animal enclosure faster than you can say “how to become a zookeeper.” Source: AFP

3. Use the right connections

When you broach the topic of how to become a zookeeper, there’s a key component in the process parallel to any career: building a network and using it to navigate the beginning of your zookeeping career.

, entry-level jobs at the zoos comprise interpretive, landscaping, and maintenance work. He himself began his lifelong career as a maintenance worker at a zoo in university, which built a foundation of transferable skills across the variety of positions he held over the years.

“The goal here is not necessarily to work with animals and become a zookeeper right away, although some student keeper programmes let you do just that, the idea is to get a job at a zoo and meet the right people that are going to give you that job,” he writes.

The point here: get in the zoo, and get working.

If you’re still attending university, you can partake in industry conferences and events that gather real-world zoology workers — like the ones hosted by the American Association of Zoo Keepers, if you’re in the US — and build a recognisable name within the professional sphere early on.