This responsibility assures an interesting and rewarding career, but the profession requires more than a commitment to conservation. It requires hard work and an education. Zoos and aquariums employ keepers, the individuals directly responsible for the care of animals and their enclosures.
Keepers feed, water, groom, and exercise animals.
They also provide the animals with companionship or enrichment activities. Animal caretakers must be alert to behavioral changes that could indicate illness or injury. They sometimes assist in research studies and give interpretive lectures to the public. Much of the work may be physically demanding. Keepers generally work outdoors in all kinds of weather.