Not monkeying around: koalafications of animal caretakers

July 1 is American Zoo Day, commemorating the date in 1874 when the first American zoo opened in Philadelphia. Today there are over 200 accredited zoos and aquariums in the United States. Worldwide, the porpoise of these facilities is to house more than 780,000 animals from over 8,600 different species. 

Preventing panda-monium and keeping all of those animals fed and cared for is a lot of work, and that work is very physical in nature. Animal caretakers spent 82.0 percent of their workday standing. Most of these workers (97.3 percent) occasionally or frequently required low postures. A majority (76.5 percent) of animal caretaker jobs required medium or heavy strength levels in their daily activities, and 77.5 percent were exposed to the outdoors.

Animal caretaking also involves cognitive and mental capabilities. Virtually all animal caretakers required at least basic people skills. More than half (54.0 percent) were subject to a variable work schedule, and 51.5 percent generally worked at a fast pace—think cheetah, not snail.

These data are from the Occupational Requirements Survey. To learn more, see “Occupational Requirements in the United States – 2024.” For more information on the concepts and definitions used in the survey, see the Handbook of Methods: Occupational Requirements Survey. In addition to zoo workers, the animal caretaking occupational profile includes others such as animal shelter workers, groomers, and kennel attendants.