Blog: My experience of being an apprentice zookeeper

On the backdrop of Golder's Hill Park Zoo's 120th birthday celebrations, George Muncey writes about his zoo apprentice experience: 

I have always loved animals and enjoyed having pets. My first pets were three white mice that I got at the age of four; that was my first experience of helping to look after an animal and learning how to handle them carefully. From then, I knew I wanted to work with animals.

Having disabilities, I found school hard and struggled in the classroom environment. After finishing school, I went to college to study carpentry and bricklaying and had odd jobs through the years like painting and decorating, and labouring, but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Finally, I made the decision to apply for my Level 1 animal care at college, and that’s where I was told about an opportunity to become an apprentice in a zoo to complete my Level 2 in animal care and welfare. With some encouragement from the head keeper at college and my family, I decided to apply. I spent my summer volunteering with the college collection to help get a reference and learned some valuable skills.

I was successful in my application, and I started my Level 2 apprenticeship at Golders Hill Park Zoo. I have learned amazing things working with the team. My manager Laura Botelho and the Head Keeper Glyn Roberts have helped me understand the role of a zookeeper and that there is so much more to working in a zoo than people think about. On top of the expected tasks, there are jobs such as enclosure maintenance, husbandry training, building enrichment, and observing the animals for behavioural changes, all of which are so important to ensuring the welfare of the animals. I have also learned about ways that our zoo is able to contribute to conservation and have gained valuable surveying skills for native wildlife.

Zookeeping can be hard work at times, especially when doing the less interesting jobs. For me, it's weeding—I really struggle to do it, but it’s a job that needs to be done. Having a good team has been amazing. I am so lucky to have such a supportive team that rallies around each other when we need help.

What this apprenticeship means to me:

I love my job and the people and animals I work with. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work in this field. At Golders Hill Park Zoo, I have managed to work with some incredible species, from the ring-tailed lemurs to the elusive wild cats.

The apprenticeship process has been amazing and has shown me just how capable I am - from the kid struggling in the classroom to the person I am now, having completed my Level 2 and passed with distinction. The apprenticeship allows me to do the formal learning in manageable chunks and pair it with the hands-on learning in the Zoo. Doing the apprenticeship has made me realise how much I enjoy learning when it is the right topic and the right environment. I am fortunate enough to be able to move on to my Level 3 Keeper and Aquarist apprenticeship, which will help me develop my skills further as I progress and become the best zookeeper I can be.

Wish me luck.

- George Muncey, Zoo Apprentice

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's position