Junior Keeper Experiences

K

Kr15

Active Member
I have a 11 year old (12 soonish) who has dreamed of working with animals since he could talk.

He’s done the junior day at Exmoor which was fantastic and were members of Paignton, but all of theirs seem quite pricey.

Can anyone recommend the best junior keeper experiences in the country?

Ideally midlands and south, but honestly we’d make a holiday out of it if it was that good!
 
Yorkshire Wildlife Park does the Ranger Academy Programme (Juniors and 15-17), it is very expensive but I did the 15-17 Ranger Academy Programme a few years back and absolutely loved it, it's designed exactly for young people who want to get into a career in animal care, including both 'lessons' on history of zoological care, enclosure design, enrichment, training etc. and of course, working practically alongside the zookeeper teams and education team. I never did the junior version of the programme so I can't say what you'd do for it but judging based on the 15-17 course I did, I definitely think it's worth looking into if your son is interested in animal care

Edit: forgot to mention it's not a single day 'experience' as such and is a week-long programme instead so that has to be factored in
 
Both Bristol Zoo and Crocodiles of the World do Junior Keeper Experiences and I think are within your range.
 
Cotswold Wildlife Park might be worth a look.

I have never done an experience, but when visiting I have noticed people who are obviously doing experiences at different enclosures throughout the day. Can't recall noticing that anywhere else.

Just had a quick look and they have one aimed at 7-11 year olds and one aimed at 12-16.
 
Dudley Zoo offer a Little Zoo Keeper experience for 8-13 year olds. I've been on one of their adult Zoo Keeper experiences and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The keepers that I worked with were very friendly and so passionate about the animals that they cared for.
 
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