So working at a zoo is all fun and games, playing with animals, and entertaining an audience...right? Wrong, in reality a lot of hard work, dedication, and compassion goes into working with animals. The animals need clean homes, healthy diets, enriching environments, health maintenance, behavioral care and husbandry. Only a team committed to the health and well-being of animals can assume so much responsibility and put a shine on some of the dirtiest jobs at the zoo. While there are times we get to play with the animals and entertain audiences, these are perks to a compassionate career focused on animals and conservation. This month's Land Sea & Air explores the strange and messy, but also extremely rewarding, occupations that go into a productive zoo.

Caring for animals can be a messy business! From considering some the extreme situations involved in animal rescue and rehabilitation to the day-to-day rountines associated with animal health maintainance, working with animals can prove to be a truly dirty job.

Learn more about the various career paths - dirty or otherwise - available at a zoological facility.

Hear it from their own mouths. Zoo team members from SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove share moments and memories of their time with the animals.

Summer may seem a long way off, but it will be here before you know it. (All right, it actually is a long way off.) Either way, did you know that we offer camp programs which focus entirely on zoological careers. If you're dedicated enough - or crazy enough - to spend some of your summer with students, you might want to consider putting a group together for an adventure none of you will soon forget. If, however, you're more of a mind for "me time", we also offer a series of camps just for teachers. Check out the Adventure Camp offerings and see if there's something that fits.