If you know a teen who loves animals, conservation and has an interest in the zoo, it's time for them to apply at Niabi Zoo.

The zoo is now accepting applications for its Junior Zookeepers program. They'll accept 14-17 year olds who are passionate about the environment and animals, to help figure out if this is a career path they might want to pursue.

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The Junior Zookeepers will go through training, then they will get to be:

  • Animal attendants
  • Education assistants
  • zoo naturalists

The zoo's Curator of Conservation and Education, Joel Vanderbush, told KWQC:

For teenagers, one of the things they’re gaining this experience is they can apply to college and put that on their college education. They may have grown up thinking they love animals and going to a zoo environment, they have a better understanding of what’s going on.

Know a teen interested? According to the zoo's website, applications are due April 1. The zoo will accept anywhere from 20-50 teens. In addition to the application, applicants will need to submit an essay and a recommendation. You can submit both here.

At that link, you can get details on dates and times of the mandatory trainings that the junior zookeepers will do, what to know before applying, how the interview process will work, and more answers to questions you might have.

Meanwhile the Niabi Zoo is getting ready to open. They will reopen to the public on April 18 and zoo members will get a preview on April 9.

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