Keeper Apprentice-Paid Position

How to Post Jobs

AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, Related Facilities, Commercial Members, Conservation Partners and Society Partners may post free unlimited online job listings as a member benefit. Non-members can purchase job listings. How to post a job

Career Center

Interested in a career in AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums? Learn more about types of zoo and aquarium jobs and relevant education programs in our career center.

Lake Superior Zoo

Keeper Apprentice-Paid Position

The Animal Care team at the Lake Superior Zoo are seeking motivated individuals with career goals in animal husbandry to apply for the new paid Keeper Apprentice program. This program is designed to train and prepare the next generation of zookeepers in all skills necessary to be successful in this field.

Overview:

At the Lake Superior Zoo, we care for over 300 animals of a variety of taxa. Keeper Apprentices will get experience working in each of our five animal routines: Main (ambassador reptiles, invertebrates, birds, and small mammals), Minnesota Wildlife/Asia/Barn routine (native mammals, Asian hoofstock and birds, domestic farm species, and red pandas), Carnivores (big cats, bears, canids, otters), Australia (amphibians, reptiles, parrots, macropods), and our Primate Care Center & Nocturnal building (small to mid-size primates, nocturnal mammals and birds, reptiles).

Keeper Apprenticeships are offered in two, approximately seven-month long sessions with flexible start and end dates. The fall session will run from approximately September-March, and the spring session runs March-September. Lake Superior Zoo expects motivated and passionate individuals that promote our mission to "inspire connections to wildlife and action towards conservation in our region and around the world."

Learning Opportunities and Responsibilities:

• Best practices in animal welfare
• Cleaning animal enclosures and holding areas
• Diet preparation and distribution with general nutrition
• Environmental enrichment and its role in animal management
• Overview of positive reinforcement training and its application
• Practical skills in guest interaction and keeper talk development
• Proper animal handling and interaction
• Behavioral observation and some data analysis with ZooMonitor
• Daily recordkeeping and an introduction to basic medical care
• Overview of best safety practices in a zoological setting
• Additional seminars and learning opportunities including medical procedure observation, animal weighing, enrichment construction, orientations to various taxa, familiarity with USDA and AZA regulations, etc.
• Personalized resume review and job-finding/interview assistance
• Learning and growing in husbandry skills at a small, close-knit zoo with a positive and supportive workplace culture

Experience Required

Requirements: • Bachelor's degree in biology or a related field preferred • Applicants with previous animal husbandry experience preferred • Applicants should have a strong desire to learn and advance in their skills in animal husbandry • Must have the ability to work with people of all ages, abilities, and cultures • Candidates need to be dependable, cooperative, and self-motivated • A negative TB test is required before beginning the apprenticeship

Further Comments

Further Comments: WORK ENVIRONMENT The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to outdoor weather conditions, and occasionally exposed to adverse environmental conditions such as dirt, dust, pollen, odors, fumes, temperature and noise extremes, toxic agents, disease, pathogenic substances, airborne particles, and animal waste. The employee is occasionally in direct contact with exotic animals and is occasionally exposed to work near moving mechanical parts; and work in high, precarious places, and in close quarters. The noise level in the work environment varies. Occasional loud noises from visitors, animals or equipment are experienced. PHYSICAL DEMANDS The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk, reach with hands and arms, use hand to handle or feel, and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb or balance; stoop, kneel, bend, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move a minimum of 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance, and peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. Evaluating animal health, diet, or environment requires hearing and smell. Interaction with staff, guests, and animals requires talking and hearing.

Salary

$11.25/hour. This is a full-time, temporary position.

How to Apply

Applications are being accepted right now for the Fall 2026 position and the position will be open until filled. The latest deadline for applying for the fall session is July 15th. The application can be found here: https://lszooduluth.org/about/employment/. Please send your completed application along with a cover letter, resume, and one letter of reference to Emily Perala at eperala@lszoo.org. For more information, email or call Emily (218) 730-4500 x104 or visit the employment page of our website at https://lszooduluth.org/about/employment/ .

Lake Superior Zoo

c/o Emily Perala

7210 Fremont Street

Duluth, MN 55807

Lake Superior Zoo

7210 Fremont Street

Duluth, MN 55807

Phone: (218)730-4500

Visit our website

Return to All Job Posts

Edit your job posting

General Settings

• Title (limited to 100 characters)

• Description

• Add details about the job itself here.

• Experience

• Comments

• Salary

• Category Type

• Internship Job

How should a candidate apply?

• Example: the mailing address, email address, fax number or website the applicant should use to apply.

Job Perks

*

Company Info

• Company Name

• Address

• City

• State

• Please Select Alberta Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas British Columbia California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Manitoba Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Brunswick Newfoundland Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Northwest Territories North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Nova Scotia Nunavut Ohio Oklahoma Ontario Oregon Pennsylvania Prince Edward Island Puerto Rico Quebec Rhode Island Saskatchewan South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Yukon

• Zip

• Company Phone

• Company Fax

• Company Website

• Company Twitter Username

• Company Facebook Page

• About the Company

• Company Logo/Avatar

• Submitting your job posting...