Training Animals, it’s More than Meets the Eye
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!
From cheetahs to zebras, our presenter has worked with and trained many animals! Last week we met Kelly Elkins, who is a Lead Animal Trainer for the San Diego Zoo’s Animals in Action program. She showed us what goes on behind the scenes for the Animals in Action encounters and shows. Ms. Elkins started out her professional career as a children’s dance teacher. However, she soon realized that her passion was to work with animals.
Similar to many people who want to work with animals, Ms. Elkins’ perception was you must be a veterinarian. Since Ms. Elkins always had a passion for animals, she enrolled into a veterinary technician training program. Veterinary technicians are comparable to the nurses you meet at the doctor’s office. They aid veterinarians in many ways such as animal welfare checkups, administering medications, and assisting in surgeries. Throughout this veterinary technician program, Ms. Elkins realized that she didn’t enjoy the emotional strain of continuous interactions with sick and injured animals. Therefore, she switched directions to involve her career with animals in another way. Ms. Elkins transitioned to a career that she loved and had a continuous passion to invest time in, animal training.
When you train your pets at home, you may teach them how to bark roll over or sit on command, but it’s not tricks that make up Ms. Elkins job. In order to jumpstart her animal training career, Ms. Elkins applied and was accepted to the Exotic Animal Training Management program (EATM) at Moorpark College. During this program, students dedicate lots of hard work and time not only to their studies, but to the animal residents as well. Students start at an entry level, cleaning enclosures and preparing animal diets before managing animals. After gaining experience, Ms. Elkins continued onto higher-level tasks. From the early hours of the morning into the late hours of the evening, Ms. Elkins would take care of and train a variety of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles at Moorpark. Through the duration of this program, Ms. Elkins learned about animal behavior, husbandry, welfare, and much more. Following her hard work and determination, Ms. Elkins successfully graduated from Moorpark with an Associate’s degree and was able to find a job at the San Diego Zoo as an Animal Trainer.
Ms. Elkins has been working at the San Diego Zoo for 14 years and loves working as a Lead Animal Trainer. While animal training may seem simple, Ms. Elkins’ job is more than meets the eye. On a daily basis, Ms. Elkins must collaborate with the Animals in Action team to evaluate animal behaviors, caretaking, and husbandry to see if the animals are ready to interact with the public. The Animals in Action program is an hour-long experience where guests go behind the scenes to see, feed, and have up-close interactions with animal ambassadors. For example, we were able to have an up close encounter with a two-toed sloth named Paloma. Paloma is an animal ambassador that partakes in the Animals in Action program who helps teach the public about animal protection and environmental conservation.
When an audience has the ability to connect with an exotic animal, the Zoo can instill the desire to protect and save species from extinction. One of Ms. Elkins’ favorite parts of her job is watching guests’ eyes light up when meeting an animal ambassador at the Zoo. Ms. Elkins loves to instill a passion and appreciation for wildlife through her well-earned position as a Lead Animal Trainer.
Maranda, Careers Team
Week Four, Winter Session 2019
