This online course will teach and introduce you to some of the major aspects that go into working in zoos, wildlife parks and safari parks. This course is helpful in excelling you into a career of working with animals.
These are the main teaching points throughout our course:
- Animal Welfare
- Animal Care
- Diet and Nutrition
- Forms of Enrichment to enhance wellbeing
- Captive Breeding
- Enclosure Design
- Research, Education and Conservation in Zoos
Course Structure:
The duration of this online course is 100 hours. This consists of 9 indepth lessons:
1. The Nature and Scope of Zoos
- What is a Zoo?
- The Evolution of Zoos
- Change in Zoo Design
- Modern Zoos, Fauna Sanctuaries and Safari Parks
- Legislation and Codes of Practice
- Animal Welfare
- Record Keeping
- Identification Tags
- Animal Taxonomy
- Phylums and Classes
- The Function of Zoos – Conservation, Research and Education
2. Occupational Health and Safety in Zoos
- Workplace Health & Safety
- Legislation
- Health and Safety Management in Zoos
- Training
- Workplace Health and Safety Practices
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Moving Animals within the Zoo
- Restraining Animals
- Carrying out Veterinary Procedures
- Managing Visitor-Animal Contact
3. Captive Husbandry – Nutrition and Feeding
- Nutrition – Natural Diet
- Feeding Behaviour
- The Effect of Poor Nutrition
- Water Requirements of Animals
- Essential Dietary Components – Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats and Lipids
- Vitamins and Minerals – In food and Supplementing captive diets
- Food Storage and Preparation
- Presentation of Food
- Monitoring Feeding
- Feeding Enrichment
- Primates and Feeding Enrichment
4. Captive Husbandry – Health
- Monitoring Health – The Healthy Animal, Recognising Ill Health and Diagnosing Diseases
- Maintaining Health and Hygiene
- Diseases – Metabolic Diseases, Parasites, Diseases Common to Zoo Animals, Controlling the Spread of Diseases
- Quarantine and Vaccinations
- Record Keeping
5. Captive Husbandry – Reproduction
- The Need for Captive Breeding
- Goals of Captive Breeding
- Captive Breeding Issues
- Inbreeding in Captive Populations – the Genetic Effects and Results of Inbreeding
- Captive Breeding Programs – Issues and Constraints
- Monitoring Reproductive Status – External Signs and Indicators, Invasive Monitoring
- Assisted Reproduction – Artificial Insemination and IVF
- Stud Books
- Birth Control in Zoo Animals
6. Captive Husbandry – Behaviour and Enrichment
- Ethology
- What Motivates Behaviour?
- Kinds of Behaviour – Reactive, Active and Cognitive
- Learned Behaviour – Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, Imprinting and Habituation
- The Flight or Fight Response
- Abnormal Behaviours – eg. Stereotypes
- Welfare Indicators
- Physical and Social Influences on Behaviour
- Behaviour Management
- Environmental Enrichment – Food, Physical, Cognitive, Social and Sensory
7. Human-Animal Interactions
- Human – Animal Interactions in Zoos
- Keeper – Animal Interactions
- Husbandry Routines – Daily, Weekly and Monthly
- Dealing with Dangerous Animals
- Handling Animals
- Fear of Humans
- Managing Visitor – Animal Interactions
8. Enclosure Design and Maintenance
- Optimum Enclosure Design
- Walk Through Enclosures
- Natural Replication
- Routine Maintenance
- Providing Stimulating Environments
9. Problem-based Learning Project – Environmental Enrichment
- Environmental Enrichment Research Project
- Introduction and Definition of Problem-based Learning
- Problem Definition
- People Involved
- Resources
- Guidelines
- Discussion
- Final Report
- Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Working With Animals – The Reality
There are a lot of courses you can take to prepare you for working with animals. In reality though, the best way to prepare is to combine this online course with some work experience. Work experience is very valuable and can also show some of the key points of this course in a new light. The completion of this course with the addition of work experience will put you well on your way to your dream job!
Places that you may be able to volunteer include:
- Zoos
- Wildlife parks
- Veterinary clinics
- Animal Rehabilitation Centres
- Animal Welfare Centres
- Animal Boarding Centres
- Ecotourism companies
How does a Warnborough Online Course work?
You can start the course whenever is convenient for you. You will be studying from home and have access to support from our qualified tutors. Practical exercises and research tasks will be set at the end of each lesson – including an assignment. You will submit this assignment to your course tutor, who will mark your work and give you constructive feedback and suggestions.
If you have any questions please contact us.
