Facility

Tanganyika Wildlife Park

Closing Date

Description

Full Time Keeper

Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, KS is looking for hardworking, self-motivated, dedicated animal care staff. Currently the park is 25 acres and has another 40+ acres to expand and we plan on growing. A new children’s zoo and safari park are among the plans for expansion. Tanganyika prides itself in providing wildly different experiences for its guests and being stewards for the animals in our care. In the past year, we have developed a set of core values to guide leadership and our team to improve and continue to meet our goals of becoming a destination park for visitors and a great place to work. If you like a fast paced, growth mindset culture come join the change.

Due to the upcoming expansions and feedback from our keeper team we’re currently looking to grow our team by nearly 20%! The most successful keepers at Tanganyika enjoy sharing their love of animals with our guests, relish in the opportunity to be creative, are constantly looking for ways to make improvements within their circle of influence, enjoy working on a small team, and take pride in their work.

We’ve developed an objective level and pay system that puts growth (both financial and personal) directly in the hands of the keepers and provides a transparent pay system. We have a competitive benefit package that is growing and improving each year: offering a Simple IRA match, multiple health insurance options, dental, vision, paid time off, and accident insurance.

Here are some of the departments currently hiring:

BREZ Team-
The BREZ team (as we like to call it around here) is responsible for a variety of animals, including a well behaved mob of red kangaroos, over 13 species of birds, the interactive and most popular area of the park, the children’s zoo, and the education animal collection. This team takes hustle to a whole new level and has the raking skills of 1200 men. Being responsible for three of the interactive areas of the park and such a large education animal collection means we can attribute at least 30% of the smiles in the park to this team!

If you love watching baby kangaroos take their first hops, enjoy seeing the thrill when kids hear 50 guinea pigs squeak all at once, or love spending time ambassadoring animals to the public then this is the team for you.

BREZ and TMC Swing Keeper
This position will be shared between two of our awesome teams: First, the Trouble Maker’s Cove team is responsible for a variety of animals, a flock of over 30 African penguins, some sleepy two toed sloths, noisy otters, one of the United States’ only Albino Alligators, and others. This team is responsible for almost all of the guest experiences at the park from otter meet and greets to penguin swims. They have an incredibly successful penguin chick breeding program and raised 15 chicks this year. That also means they have some pretty incredible biceps from all that scrubbing and fish prep. Second, the BREZ team (as we like to call it around here) is responsible for a variety of animals, including a well behaved mob of red kangaroos, over 13 species of birds, the interactive and most popular area of the park, the children’s zoo, and the education animal collection. This team takes hustle to a whole new level and has the raking skills of 1200 men. Being responsible for three of the interactive areas of the park and such a large education animal collection means we can attribute at least 30% of the smiles in the park to this team!

If you love guest engagement, don’t mind when someone cries in front of you (and the sloth), enjoy smelling like fish, have a soft spot for the underappreciated reptiles and yet love the limelight of training otters and penguins. This position will give you the best of all worlds! Slow or inefficient rakers need not apply.

Hoofstock and Primate Swing Keeper
This position will be shared between two of our biggest departments. The first being, the hoofstock team is responsible for a variety of animals, including one of the largest giraffe herds in the United States, Grevy zebra, okapi, springbok, Indian rhino, a pygmy hippo breeding pair, and numerous other species. This team is hardworking and dedicated not only to the care of their animals but to the growth of their team and themselves individuals. This team is willing to put in the time and effort to have hard conversations about teamwork, care, and training for the betterment of the animals. In addition to being part of numerous successful breeding programs, the hoofstock team takes part in encounter stations and ambassador animal training around the park. Second, the primate team is responsible for a variety of animals, including the largest group of Javan langurs in the United states, two successful colobus breeding groups, saki monkey, ruffed lemurs, and ring tailed lemurs to name a few. In addition to daily husbandry for breeding and exhibit groups of primates they also oversee the commissary and lemur island. Lemur island is an encounter experience where guests get to feed a lemur. This team is proud of the positive relationships they form with the animals. The training time and dedication to prepare lemurs for the island and to maintain appropriate behaviors requires a high level of dedication.

If you love watching baby monkeys wrestle, think a rhino mud bath is divine, don’t mind large shovelfuls and stinky bucketfuls, are a browse master, and think variety is the spice of life then this ones for you!

On Demand Keeper-
This position is a shared position between all five of our keeper teams. You have the opportunity to work with every species at the park and get the experience to build relationships with 500 different individual animals. The hoofstock team is responsible for a variety of animals, including one of the largest giraffe herds in the United States, Grevy zebra, okapi, springbok, Indian rhino, a pygmy hippo breeding pair, and numerous other species. The primate team is responsible for a variety of animals, including the largest group of Javan langurs in the United states, two successful colobus breeding groups, saki monkey, ruffed lemurs, and ring tailed lemurs to name a few. The BREZ team (as we like to call it around here) is responsible for a variety of animals, including a well behaved mob of red kangaroos, over 13 species of birds, the interactive and most popular area of the park, the children’s zoo, and the education animal collection. The Trouble Maker’s Cove team is responsible for a variety of animals, a flock of over 30 African penguins, some sleepy two toed sloths, noisy otters, one of the United States’ only Albino Alligators, and others. The carnivore team is responsible for a variety of animals, jaguar, tiger, ratel, lion, and a large cheetah breeding facility.

This position will require a fast learner with a large amount of flexibility. The ideal candidate gets bored easily, loves helping, is the first to say, “I’ve got that!”, and can adapt on the fly! It’s also a great foot in the door position if you’re looking to get in to the Tanganyika family or if you just aren’t sure what species you want to specialize in!

Hoofstock Team-
The hoofstock team is responsible for a variety of animals, including one of the largest giraffe herds in the United States, Grevy zebra, okapi, springbok, Indian rhino, a pygmy hippo breeding pair, and numerous other species. This team is hardworking and dedicated not only to the care of their animals but to the growth of their team and themselves individuals. This team is willing to put in the time and effort to have hard conversations about teamwork, care, and training for the betterment of the animals. In addition to being part of numerous successful breeding programs, the hoofstock team takes part in encounter stations and ambassador animal training around the park.

If you love watching baby giraffe take their first steps, enjoy seeing the look of amazement when kids throw carrots to hippo, or love spending summer days taking camels for a walk then you need to apply to join our team.

Primate Team-
The primate team is responsible for a variety of animals, including the largest group of Javan langurs in the United states, two successful colobus breeding groups, saki monkey, ruffed lemurs, and ring tailed lemurs to name a few. In addition to daily husbandry for breeding and exhibit groups of primates they also oversee the commissary and lemur island. Lemur island is an encounter experience where guests get to feed a lemur. This team is proud of the positive relationships they form with the animals. The training time and dedication to prepare lemurs for the island and to maintain appropriate behaviors requires a high level of dedication.

If you want to grow your skills in group animal management, spend time lounging with lemurs, and contribute to the preservation of colobus, saki monkeys, and Javan langurs then you need to apply to join our team.

Education and Pre-requisites

Requirements:
Combination of education and hands-on experience that provides the required skills for the position
Excellent public speaking and customer service skills
Desire to grow as a team member, animal keeper, and human being
Ability to stand or walk and be able to perform physical work outside in all weather conditions
Ability to bend, stoop, and lift 50-75 pounds when necessary
Ability to work long hours, weekend, weekdays, holidays, and everyday

Desired skills, experience, and individual qualities:
Self motivated
Hard working
Driven
Dedicated
Ability to read behavior
Fast learner
Operant conditioning experience
Conflict resolution
Flexibility
Adaptable

Compensation and benefits

Salary based on experience
Year round, full-time position
Professional development program that allows Keepers to improve their skill set and earn additional pay compensation
Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
Supplemental Insurance
HSA
Simple IRA
Paid PTO
In-House Discounts
Free admission to TWP for yourself and family

Application instructions

Please apply at https://twpark.applicantstack.com/x/openings.

If you have any issues apply please email amoody@twpark.com for assistance.