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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Do you remember your childhood visits to the Zoo? Odds are you were captivated by the incredible animal trainers working with elephants, lions, eagles, and other exotic species. Perhaps you even wanted to be an animal trainer as a kid. Maybe you still do, and are pursuing that career right now. Surely everyone can agree that being an animal trainer is an incredible job. This week, interns met with Nicki Boyd, the San Diego Zoo’s Behavior Husbandry Manager.
While Ms. Boyd is currently a manager, she actually started her career working in the Children’s Zoo as a Zookeeper. Since she grew up in San Diego, Ms. Boyd had the opportunity to visit the Zoo many times. She always knew she wanted to be a zookeeper and work with animals. This led to her decision to attend Moorpark College and complete the Exotic Animal Training and Management program. This program prepares students for a career in the animal care industry. Many graduates go on to work at various zoos, aquariums, or even at government facilities. After graduating from Moorpark College, Ms. Boyd continued her education at Mesa College, where she participated in a vet-tech program and landed an internship at the Safari Park. Immediately upon graduating from Mesa College, she was hired at the San Diego Zoo as a zookeeper.
A large part of Ms. Boyd’s job is training animals for medical behaviors; such as blood draws, injections, nail trims, presenting different body parts for inspection, ultrasounds etc. These are called husbandry behaviors, which are designed to enhance animal welfare. The animals are trained to participate in their own healthcare, which makes things easier for both the zookeepers and the animal itself. The Zoo’s animal training program is focused on positive reinforcement, which is a subgenre of operant conditioning. In a nutshell, positive reinforcement is a type of training that rewards desired behaviors while simply ignoring unwanted behaviors. This method of animal training increases the probability of the desired behavior occurring again. For example, if you give a command for a dog to sit, and they do sit, then a reward is given (such as a treat, ball/toy, etc). If the dog doesn't sit, then you would perform what animal trainers call an ‘LRS’, also known as a least reinforcing scenario. This means that you would give the dog a three-second neutral response, indicating that the dog did not do the desired behavior without using means of punishment. After an LRS, a trainer can move on with a different behavior, continue with the current one, or even feed the animal if they had a good attitude during the LRS.
Ms. Boyd creates and manages many animal training programs. In order to develop a successful training program, she has to take many variables into account. The animal's’ natural behaviors, such as how they find and acquire food, avoid danger, their social hierarchy, how they find mates, and migration patterns are all considered when developing a training program. Individual characteristics and personality traits are also taken into account. Each individual may learn differently than the other, therefore it is important to understand the personalities of each animal when constructing an efficient training plan. Every interaction a trainer or keeper has with an animal can potentially shape behavior, desirable or undesirable. Any animal can be trained, even amoebas! All it takes is an effective training program.
You may be wondering, what does it take to become an animal trainer? Well, tons of animal experience, paid or unpaid, is super beneficial. Every job you have leading up to the trainer position should be an animal related job. Taking classes in animal training and participating in workshops is also recommended. A Bachelor's degree in zoology, biology, environmental science, or another related field is preferred or even required for most animal trainer jobs.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become an animal trainer, but the relationships you get to build with the animals makes it all worth it. Ms. Boyd’s favorite animals to train and work with are bears and cats, but if she could train with any animal that she hasn't worked with yet it would be elephants. If you are currently looking for a job as an animal trainer, check the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) job listings. Zoos and aquariums across the nation use the AZA’s website to recruit people for various animal care positions, including animal training. Although it is difficult to become an animal trainer, lots of hard work and commitment will land you your dream job.
Sarah, Career Team
Winter Session 2017
Do you remember your childhood visits to the Zoo? Odds are you were captivated by the incredible animal trainers working with elephants, lions, eagles, and other exotic species. Perhaps you even wanted to be an animal trainer as a kid. Maybe you still do, and are pursuing that career right now. Surely everyone can agree that being an animal trainer is an incredible job. This week, interns met with Nicki Boyd, the San Diego Zoo’s Behavior Husbandry Manager.
While Ms. Boyd is currently a manager, she actually started her career working in the Children’s Zoo as a Zookeeper. Since she grew up in San Diego, Ms. Boyd had the opportunity to visit the Zoo many times. She always knew she wanted to be a zookeeper and work with animals. This led to her decision to attend Moorpark College and complete the Exotic Animal Training and Management program. This program prepares students for a career in the animal care industry. Many graduates go on to work at various zoos, aquariums, or even at government facilities. After graduating from Moorpark College, Ms. Boyd continued her education at Mesa College, where she participated in a vet-tech program and landed an internship at the Safari Park. Immediately upon graduating from Mesa College, she was hired at the San Diego Zoo as a zookeeper.
A large part of Ms. Boyd’s job is training animals for medical behaviors; such as blood draws, injections, nail trims, presenting different body parts for inspection, ultrasounds etc. These are called husbandry behaviors, which are designed to enhance animal welfare. The animals are trained to participate in their own healthcare, which makes things easier for both the zookeepers and the animal itself. The Zoo’s animal training program is focused on positive reinforcement, which is a subgenre of operant conditioning. In a nutshell, positive reinforcement is a type of training that rewards desired behaviors while simply ignoring unwanted behaviors. This method of animal training increases the probability of the desired behavior occurring again. For example, if you give a command for a dog to sit, and they do sit, then a reward is given (such as a treat, ball/toy, etc). If the dog doesn't sit, then you would perform what animal trainers call an ‘LRS’, also known as a least reinforcing scenario. This means that you would give the dog a three-second neutral response, indicating that the dog did not do the desired behavior without using means of punishment. After an LRS, a trainer can move on with a different behavior, continue with the current one, or even feed the animal if they had a good attitude during the LRS.
Ms. Boyd creates and manages many animal training programs. In order to develop a successful training program, she has to take many variables into account. The animal's’ natural behaviors, such as how they find and acquire food, avoid danger, their social hierarchy, how they find mates, and migration patterns are all considered when developing a training program. Individual characteristics and personality traits are also taken into account. Each individual may learn differently than the other, therefore it is important to understand the personalities of each animal when constructing an efficient training plan. Every interaction a trainer or keeper has with an animal can potentially shape behavior, desirable or undesirable. Any animal can be trained, even amoebas! All it takes is an effective training program.
You may be wondering, what does it take to become an animal trainer? Well, tons of animal experience, paid or unpaid, is super beneficial. Every job you have leading up to the trainer position should be an animal related job. Taking classes in animal training and participating in workshops is also recommended. A Bachelor's degree in zoology, biology, environmental science, or another related field is preferred or even required for most animal trainer jobs.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become an animal trainer, but the relationships you get to build with the animals makes it all worth it. Ms. Boyd’s favorite animals to train and work with are bears and cats, but if she could train with any animal that she hasn't worked with yet it would be elephants. If you are currently looking for a job as an animal trainer, check the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) job listings. Zoos and aquariums across the nation use the AZA’s website to recruit people for various animal care positions, including animal training. Although it is difficult to become an animal trainer, lots of hard work and commitment will land you your dream job.
Sarah, Career Team
Winter Session 2017
