Interns will work directly with the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry and Research and animal keepers to learn the principles of animal training and enrichment through lecture as well as hands-on work with the animals.

This particular internship is for seal training and polar bear enrichment and interns will participate in animal training demonstrations and schedule, implement and evaluate daily polar bear enrichment. As with many internships, this position is unpaid but housing is available.

Requirements are that you must be a junior or senior in college, or recent college graduate with a major in Biology, Animal Behavior, Psychology, Zoology or other related field

Must be willing to learn, have a positive attitude, and team mentality. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required and previous hands-on work with animals a plus.

Duties include preparing seal diets and participate in daily feeding/training sessions and enter those training records into a computer program.

In addition, will help in the development of enrichment schedules for several species and construct and implement enrichment items while also conducting animal behavioral observations.

To apply please send a cover letter, resume and 3 references to (email preferred) to
Beth Posta
Curator of Behavioral Husbandry and Research
The Toledo Zoo
Beth.Posta@toledozoo.org 419-385-5721 ext. 2051

However, after scanning through the information, I found that it was simply a promotional piece about pet care careers that directed people to a specific website.

My reason for bringing this up is that there are a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon to solicit funds from those seeking animal careers.

I wrote about accreditation not too long ago and so think it is important that you understand that not all online information is created equal.

Nor are the programs that are out there all worth it.

Although my animal career coaching application period has closed, I will be opening it again once those people are through the program.

If you missed my Unusual Animal Career series and seminars–including weekend intensives that I started back in the 1990s–you won’t want to miss the new program set to launch sometime next year.

I’ll be spending some time reviewing a few animal career publications that might be helpful to you.

In general, vocational guides and college career guidance can be the most helpful to help you sort through the piles of products being promoted online.

Plus, you don’t have to be a student to take advantage of those resources–simply show up and ask for help since you are seeking a career.

When you go for solid sources of information you will save your self some heartache and tons of time.

Does it mean that all private materials or programs are crap?

No, certainly not.

I’ve been involved in private training programs since my career began and do continuing education online–but you have to know how to sort through the mess to find the gems.

In the next few posts I’ll share some good animal career resources with you but also be sure to sign up for the animal career secrets email list so you don’t miss subscriber only goodies!

My favorite trip was to an exotic feline facility where the highlight of many students was that they were licked by a leopard.

Hmm, that might be a good title for something.

Anyway, when I moved away from the San Diego location, I moved my animal career coaching to private sessions and have enjoyed watching some of those clients move into careers with animals.

At long last I will begin offering animal career coaching again for selected people who want to participate.

I’ll be sending out notices within a week to my subscribers so I’d urge you to make sure to sign up to the list.

A select group of individuals will be chosen to participate in a beta test of a new online program and course work designed to help you identify if you have what it takes to be involved in an animal career and then direct you into actions that can help you make the career with animals dream a reality.

I’ll be only selecting a few people for this program test and it will be fee based.

It will include some great perks and introductions to a variety of aspects in the animal field (both wild and domestic) so if you want a career with dogs or seek something more exotic–you won’t want to miss it.

The first pre-requisite is that you have to be a subscriber on my list–so sign up now and wait for the announcement!

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I thought you’d be interested in this video from the UK about animal careers and how to individuals obtained their career goals.

The one consideration you should pay attention to is the competition and the trend of combining both experience with education.

There are many people who are interested in working with birds. There are many different careers with animals and each has a variety of specialty areas. Studies for a career with birds may include ornithology, falconry, bird banding, or rehabilitation. There are also careers training pet birds, bird behavior, leading birding groups and more.

Today I am going to touch on banding birds. Banding is a process where a numbered band is placed on a bird’s leg. Believe it or not, bird banding has been a career area for about 105 years and the man credited with starting it all was Dr. Paul Bartsch of the Smithsonian Institution.

Today banding reports are still submitted and the band number is entered into a computer database and contains important information about the particular animal such as the species, sex, condition, age, and the area where it was banded.

Every time a banded bird is trapped and released again, or if the bird is found dead, the database is updated. The latest statistics available to me were that in 2001 a whopping 1,049,646 birds were banded in the United States and Canada, and 97,204 recoveries were reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory.

Traditionally a biology degree is helpful but studying ornithology is more appropriate. If you want more opportunities consider a field of study that allows you wider options…however for this field a degree is not always required.

Banders are a select group and there are only 2000 Master banding permits and 3000 subpermits in the United States. Those who apply for a banding permit must show that they are qualified to safely trap, handle, and band the birds.

To become a master at bird banding the minimum age is 18 years for the permit. A project proposal must be submitted and you will need recommendations by three licensed bird banders or professional ornithologists discussing your skills. The actual requirements I found are:

Applicants who are at least 18 years of age and are able to identify all of the common birds in their different seasonal plumages may apply for a bird banding permit. However, it is recommended that applicants initially request a subpermit under an existing bander. Applications are submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory in the USA or the Canadian Wildlife Service in Canada. The applicants must furnish the names of three well-known bird banders or ornithologist who can vouch for their expertise as a bird bander.

To get experience prior to applying for a permit you should volunteer to help local bird banders in your area. Call the local universities, natural history museums, bird groups, or wildlife refuges to find out who is banding birds in your area. Most enjoy having volunteers.

If you do a good job and learn the nuances of bird banding, you may be able to obtain the recommendations you need to proceed. Each state varies in the way they regulate bird banding. There are both federal and state permits so you’ll need to check into the requirements for your particular state and also if you need special permits for trapping devices such as mist nets (specially designed nets for capturing birds).

• The formation of the National Bird Banding Program was heavily influenced by Frederick C. Lincoln.

• Read the executive summary about the North American Bird Banding Program at the United States Geological Survey website.

• Bird Ringing at Wikipedia

The Avian Flu has raised concern for some handling wild birds so the National Wildlife Health Center has a page you might be interested in viewing. It specifically updates those working with wild birds about health issues.

Birds are fascinating animals to work with and since there are so many varieties this is an area of focus you might want to explore.

Diana L Guerrero is an animal career specialist and has extensive experience in many areas of the animal world. A well known animal expert, she has worked professionally with animals for over thirty years. Guerrero is the author of several books and the host of the syndicated, Ark Animal Answers.

In the past few years there have been a number of new types of pet businesses exploding across the nation, many are prominent in urban areas and some pet businesses are more susceptible to challenges when there are fluctuations in the economy.

One of the reasons for this is that many consider them non-essentials. Pet food and veterinary medical services will always be needed but not every pet service or business will be.

At the moment, it looks like we are headed into tougher times. In the past, I’ve watched specialty boutiques, training businesses, grooming services, dog walking, and pet clean up services suffer from lower demand in the face of economic hard times.

Customer service and quality products or services can help fight against economic ups and downs but there are a few things to consider. One of the things many pet businesses do is diversify.

Not too long ago I remember when most groomers refused to sell products. I had been commissioned by one of the major pet wholesale distributors to open up that market since they had been unsuccessful at doing that.

It would seem like this would be a no-brainer but most didn’t want to deal with sales or keeping products on the shelf clean. I have to admit that in my training business at the time I preferred to refer to local pet businesses for products so as not to compete–and to create goodwill so that my business would thrive from the referrals for animal behavior instead.

However, as time passed many of those business owners realized that they were missing on out sales that could increase their revenue and create an additional income on a regular basis. Today, I still refer but I also have product on hand to sell to clients and have my own proprietary products as they are a big boost to the bottom line.

Another strategy is to network with other pet related services and businesses. Cooperation and cross referral creates good will and additional customer loyalty—not to mention the additional dollars from sales.

My point in bringing this up is to challenge those who are interested in pet businesses to use a bit of creative thought on how to make your business as profitable and stable as you can.

Think about ways you can increase revenue, keep current clients and customers happy, and attract new clients. If you make these efforts part of the business plan, should the economy takes a serious hit, your business will continue to move forward despite challenges.

While I am on the topic, many businesses start up with little capital to fund their first years. In general, most businesses will fail in the first five years and it would be a good idea to do ample research, construct a good business plan, and consult with experts who can help steer you in the right direction.

If you do decide your own business is the way to go, the groundwork you do in advance will save you heartache and stress in the future.

Diana L Guerrero is an animal career specialist and has extensive experience in many areas of the animal world. A well known animal expert, she has worked professionally with animals for over thirty years. Guerrero is the author of several books and the host of the syndicated, Ark Animal Answers.

I am pondering some longer articles on specific careers but had a thought about some of the current trends I am seeing. The trend is towards animal franchises. Franchises are established businesses that have a whole strategy behind them. They usually include national advertising, demographic studies as to where might be the best location to open shop, branding or name recognition, and much more.

If you are engaging in a profession that is a business that doesn’t deal with live critters that is one thing, but if it is something that requires skill—well, that is a whole other ball game. I recently came across two different franchises that concern professions that require skill for handling animals…skill that is developed over time or that comes from academic training, certification, or years of experience.

I have heard complaints about one of them–because it is related to dog training and behavior–but the other sort of shocked me.

My concern is that not everyone has the skill sets to engage in these specific professions. I need to do more research and exploration before I give a final opinion, but over time I have seen more harm than good for well meaning but unskilled people who are working with animals.

Franchises usually mean that you will be successful because they have a proven business plan and follow that successful model. They often provide ongoing education for a fee. You buy into the franchise and then pay the franchise a regular fee.

In these days I am pretty sick of the big box stores and lack of personality, not to mention customer service, behind many businesses, so I am leery of animal franchises beyond pet product retailers.

I am going to be traveling this week but be sure that I am going to get into the topic in depth in the future.

Diana L Guerrero is an animal career specialist and has extensive experience in many areas of the animal world. A well known animal expert, she has worked professionally with animals for over thirty years. Guerrero is the author of several books and the host of the syndicated, Ark Animal Answers.

Animal Career Secrets explores how to avoid internet garbage content. All content copyrighted 2007 by Diana L Guerrero. Some rights reserved.

The Internet has changed drastically since I first launched my authority site in 1995. Today you have to be careful to sort through content that is generated simply to drive you into a site. The idea is that if they get you to their site, perhaps you will purchase something or click through to generate an income at that site.

Since I need to stay on top of the many changes and trends within the animal world, I track news and key phrases. When I started my authority site back in 1995 there was not a lot of garbage. Today, I see a bunch of it all around the Internet. These are sites that promise information but give out poor advice or erroneous material.

In some cases the websites or blogs are simply set up to attract people and generate an income. These website use click throughs or encourage visitors to purchase related material–some of which is just junk. Today alone, five emails promising valuable material on the animal career topic arrived but zero contained anything useful. Out of hundreds of promising content only about two dozen seem to give me anything worthwhile in all the topics I track.

This space waster titled, Careers with Animals offered nothing useful for anyone seeking an animal career. I link it here to show you an example of how the article came to me; it used key words and lots of them. In addition, they have a variety of ads for the key words. I was disgusted that I wasted my time to click onto the page and sadly they probably do well with their ads. This is the age of internet marketing–so what can you do?

In most cases, I would recommend that you review the link before clicking into a site from a search engine. You can use a mouse rollover to view the URL from an email or search engine and over time you begin to discern what is wasteful.

One solution is a nifty download from SNAP. It can be added to your browser or used in your blogs or websites–I have it on my other sites and hope to incorporate it here too. I like that I can preview the site before clicking over into it. I can’t tell you how many times it has saved me from wasting time surfing the web.

Careers with animals is a specialty area and poor material is a waste of your time. I’m tracking a few sites now to see how they develop. You can look forward to Animal Career Secrets providing website reviews, book reviews, programs, and linking to valuable content to save you time and hopefully helping steer you into quality animal career content.

My hope is that these efforts will save you some time and direct you to resources that are useful–because there are many that are not.

Here is a great commentary from Christie over at the Pet Connection about sorting through the mess.

Diana L Guerrero is an animal career specialist and has extensive experience in many areas of the animal world. A well known animal expert, she has worked professionally with animals for over thirty years. Guerrero is the author of several books and the host of the syndicated, Ark Animal Answers.

Two field researchers are required for a year long study on “Seed
dispersal and regeneration of hornbill dispersed tree species in the
Eastern Himalayas.” This research is a continuation of an ongoing
study in Pakke Tiger Reserve and adjoining Reserve Forests. The focus of the research is on the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance (primarily hunting and logging) on hornbill densities and the recruitment of their food plants and encompasses bird surveys (of hornbills and other frugivorousspecies), focal tree watches and vegetation assessments.

The project will be initiated in August/September 2007 (time frame
negotiable) and will continue for a period of one year with the
possibility of a six month extension. A monthly stipend equivalent to
JRF/SRF scales of UGC as found applicable will be paid for the duration
of the study. In addition, field costs will be covered.

Candidates should possess a Master’s degree in Wildlife
biology/Ecology/ Zoology or a related field of biology and be willing to
work in extremely demanding field conditions. Prior field experience in
bird identification (particularly Himalayan species) and field
techniques is highly desirable.

Qualified candidates may P. Sethi (psethi *at* uic.edu)
Pia Sethi
Doctoral candidate
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
845 W. Taylor Street (M/C 066)
Chicago, IL-60607