Keeper for the Day

Our Keeper for the Day Scheme is specifically designed to give the general public a real understanding of the work involved in keeping animals in a zoo environment. The scheme has been running since December 2004 and has been a resounding success with slots being booked twelve months in advance.

The day runs from 8:45am to 4:45pm on a Wednesday and is split into two halves, allowing the keeper for the day to spend each half of the day in a different section of the zoo depending on their preference. They gain hands-on experience of activities such as cleaning enclosures, feeding and animal enrichment. There are 4 sections to choose from as follows:

Mornings or afternoons:

Ectotherm section - includes aquarium, butterfly forest, Bug world and reptiles.

Prsentations section - includes fur seals and presentation animals.

Mornings only:

Mammal Section - includes primates, zona Brazil, Twilight world and monkey jungle.

Bird section - includes penguins, animal stores and all birds on site.

Due to the hands-on nature of this experience, participants of 'Keeper for the Day' must be physically fit and suffering no severe health problems. For insurance purposes, the scheme is only available to those aged sixteen years and over and unfortunately cannot accommodate wheelchair users in this instance due to access difficulties behind the scenes.

How to book

The price of 'Keeper for the Day' is £225 (inc. VAT) and includes souvenir gifts such as a specially designed fleece, a complimentary guest ticket, and a guide book.

Please note that due to the popularity of this scheme, we are now fully booked on all sections until 2010. Please call for availability.

For further information or an application form, please contact Scott Fessey on 0117 974 7342 or email sfessey [at] bristolzoo [dot] org [dot] uk