Animal Show Training Curator Job Description

Animal Show Training Curator Job Profile and Description

If you have attended the dolphin and whale shows at the San Diego Zoo, those folks who command them to go through a variety of acrobatic stunts that delight the audience is the product of painstaking and loving work provided by the veteran Animal Show Training Curators.  They manage a team of animal trainers each specialized in developing promising animals as show stoppers in an amusement park.  Apart from a special breed of trainable whales and dolphins, they manage the training of dogs, parrots and other domestic animals for the entertainment of the public in animal shows. They administer to the care and training of show animals for commercial purposes and are employed mostly in parks and animal schools.

Animal Show Training Curator Duties and Responsibilities

• Observe and analyze animal behavior over a period of time to create rapport and understand their preferences with human assistance, foods and environmental condition prior to training.
• Document daily routine and conduct post training study to evaluate the effectiveness of the training regimen and make experimentation on what works best with the animals.
• Collaborate with the amusement park owner and show organizers to arrive at a more suitable schedule of shows that would not stress the animals unnecessarily.

Animal Show Training Curator Skills and Specifications

• Must have strong love and passion for the animals being trained and can intuitively communicate with them.
• Excellent knowledge of the biological and ecological relationship the animal with the environment and man

Animal Show Training Curator Education and Qualifications

• A high school diploma is basic
• A BS degree in the relevant biological and veterinarian sciences is preferred especially for training more exotic animals like whales and dolphins.
• 5-8 years of experience in managing animal trainers is preferred.

Animal Show Training Curator Salary

The annual median salary of an Animal Show Training Curator in 2008 stood at about $28,000 with the middle 50% earning from $20,000 and $39,000.  The lowest 10% earned about $17,000 while the almost $52,000.