Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zoo College for me?
If you are dreaming of a career working with wild animals, the Zoo College is for you.
If you are contemplating joining Big Cat Rescue as a volunteer or intern, the Zoo College is for you.
If you run a sanctuary or zoo and want all of the best resources and training ideas and materials for your volunteers and staff, then Zoo College is for you and them.
How much does Zoo College cost?
That depends on you. Zoo College membership is a small monthly fee of $9.00 USD, and you can take the Zoo Keeper course as quickly as you want, which means you can finish the course as quickly as you want. We don’t hold back content, on a drip feed, but we do require that you take the courses in the order they are listed, because many classes build on what you learned in a previous class.
Our first several graduates managed to do so in under a month, so the course only cost them $9.00 TOTAL!!!
Once you have all of your Certificates, just stop the monthly billing and you are done. We will even send you an email reminder to cancel your membership when you complete the course. There are no other fees, costs or add ons. And here is the best news:
All of your tuition fees support the lions, tigers, leopards, bobcats, servals and other wild cats at Big Cat Rescue. Because all of Big Cat Rescue’s administrative costs are funded by tour revenue, 100% of your tuition helps provide lifetime care for the big cats who have been rescued.
How long does Zoo College take?
There are 45 lessons. On average each lesson and quiz can be completed in 20-30 minutes so that is about 22 hours of study, not counting all of the extra curricular links to more information.
What sort of recognition will I get for completing Zoo College?
Each lesson that has a quiz will give you an awesome badge to display on your account page, if you pass the quiz. You must make at least 80% to pass, and you can take the quiz over and over, so do yourself a favor and keep taking it until your badge indicated that you passed with a purr-fect score.
At the end of each level you will be presented with a beautiful digital certificate of completion that you can share or print out to frame on your wall, or to put with your resume’. There are some other neat surprises for you as you work your way through the course as well, but we don’t want to spoil it by telling you.
Is Zoo College a replacement for on site training at Big Cat Rescue?
No. You will have to repeat most of the classes, but you will be much more familiar with the courses, and the repetition will give you a better grasp of the importance of the tasks.
Does Zoo College provide me with standard college or university credits toward my degree?
At this time Zoo College is not part of any standard college or university degree program.
What if I don’t like the Zoo College course?
You can cancel any monthly renewal charges at any time.
PayPal:
Here is how to cancel an automatic payment with Zoo College:
Log in to your PayPal account.
Click Profile at the top of the page.
Click My Money, then click Update beside My preapproved payments to find your payment.
Select the payment, and then click Cancel.
Here is a video to show you how easy:
Stripe:
If you paid via Stripe please email me with the email address you used at sign up and I will cancel for you.
It’s that easy. If you didn’t like Zoo College we would like to know how you would suggest that we make it better. Let us know at Cat@BigCatRescue.org
What Kind of Lessons Can I Expect?
These are the lessons for each of the 5 Keeper Levels in the Zoo Keeper course.
Keeper Level 1
1 of 21 How to advance through the Zoo College course.
2 of 21 A01a: Orientation
3 of 21 Cleaning map and test
4 of 21 These are the things you might do on your first day at the zoo.
5 of 21 A02: Tour Back Up and Gate & Vehicle Operation
6 of 21 A03: Animal Observation
7 of 21 A04: Animal Emergency
8 of 21 A05: First Aid
9 of 21 A06: Kids Tour Guide
10 of 21 A07: Emergency Disaster Plan
11 of 21 A08: Tour Guide
12 of 21 EC01: Kitten Playtime Class
13 of 21 A10: Tour Guide II
14 of 21 A11: Cleaning Small Cats
15 of 21 Toxic Plants (Cat Version)
16 of 21 A13: Events
17 of 21 A14: Issues & Actions
18 of 21 A15: US Government 101
19 of 21 EC02: Kitten Nursing Class
20 of 21 EC05: Live Prey Care
21 of 21 Tool Safety – OSHA
Keeper Level 2
1 of 8 Important Notice Before Starting ZooKeeper Level 2
2 of 8 B06: Cleaning Cougars
3 of 8 C03: Feeding Small Cats
4 of 8 B01: Enrichment
5 of 8 B04: Operant Conditioning
6 of 8 Social Marketing Class
7 of 8 Vet Dart Rifle and Jab Stick
8 of 8 B10: Feeding Tour Guide
Keeper Level 3
1 of 7 C01: Cleaning Big Cats
2 of 7 C03: Feeding Big Cats
3 of 7 C12: Keeper Tour Guide
4 of 7 C14: Night Tour Guide
5 of 7 Animal Grooming Class
6 of 7 Meds Administration
7 of 7 Hospitalized Animal Care
Keeper Level 4
1 of 3 Animal Registrar via ZIMS
2 of 3 Using K Laser on Big Cats
3 of 3 C16: Med Dispensing
Manager Level 5
1 of 7 Policies 00-19
2 of 7 Internship Application Information
3 of 7 Internship Interview
4 of 7 Volunteer Orientation Notices
5 of 7 Volunteer Tracking Form
6 of 7 Promotions Form Letters to Use
7 of 7 Veterinary Care Presentation
Other questions?
Most other questions are probably answered in our Terms of Service.