Animal care specialist

Location:

Chicago, IL

Posted:

February 08, 2025

Contact this candidate

Resume:

Lexi Lawry

Aspiring Zoologist

**W*** **th st

Clarendon Hills, IL

60514

815-***-****

****.*****@*****.***

EXPERIENCE

Brookfield Zoo — Seasonal Zookeeper (Wild

encounters/HFPZ

May 2023- December 2023/ March 2024- Current

Feed and service a variety of animals.

Prepare Enrichment.

Prepare diets.

Administer medications.

Use a program to input animal needs, behavioral changes, and diet changes.

Interact with the general public and pay special care to the well being of the animals as the public interacts with them. Speak to a variety of people during chats about the animals we have.

Monitor behavior.

Help with restraining

Animals worked with: Corn snakes, Armadillo, Ball pythons, blue-tongued skinks, wallabies, raven, genet, goats, budgies, butterflies, lemurs, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, chuckwallas, leopard geckos, owls, falcons, hawks, turkey vultures, tarantulas, scorpions, toads, viper geckos, turtles, giraffes, fox snakes, penguins

Brookfield Zoo- Keeper Aid HFPZ/WE

May 2024- June 2024

Feed and service a variety of animals.

Prepare Enrichment.

Prepare diets.

Administer medications.

CERTIFICATES

Handling dangerous animals

Ethics of Animal Care

Animal Welfare Awareness

SKILLS

Fast learner

Experience working with a

variety of animals (including

Reptiles, mammals,

carnivores, herbavores, etc)

Tech savvy.

Good at working with others

and alone.

Good communication skills.

Strong drive.

Self motivated and

passionate.

People skills.

Public speaking.

Critical thinking.

Problem solver.

Adaptability.

Creative.

Empathetic.

Strong work ethic.

Good at math (measuring,

adding, multiplying, etc)

Operant conditioning

Animal Ambassador

Animal restraint

Use a program to input animal needs, behavioral changes, and diet changes.

Interact with the general public and pay special care to the well being of the animals as the public interacts with them. Speak to a variety of people during chats about the animals we have.

Activate - Game facilitator

December 2023- current

Interact with guests

Clean the taming areas and Lobby

Take inventory

Check people in and answer a variety of questions. Interact with the general public and pay special care to the well being of the animals as the public interacts with them. Peoria Zoo, Peoria, Illinois — Animal caretaker

Volunteer

November 2021 - February 2022

Helped feed and check the behavior for a variety of animals. Cleaned enclosures and helped distribute food to animals. Helped prepare food and enrichment for animals.

Animals worked with: Wallaby, emu, snakes, giraffes, rhinos, cockatoo, a variety of bird species, frogs, rats, rabbits, chinchillas, and many different reptiles.

Summerfield zoo, Belvidere, Illinois — Zoo keeper

intern

July 2021 -October 2021 Worked around 60 hours per week, every week. Experience working alone.

Learned how to handle emergencies, who to contact, and what to do until help arrived.

Helped prepare medicine for different hoofed animals. Prepared diets for a large variety of animals.

Cleaned habitats, practiced enrichment, and learned to properly move animals.

Took inventory and even went grocery shopping for the zoo. Aided in animal talks.

Keeper aid/temporary full

time keeper experience.

Accomplishments/Activities

ZTO (Zeta Theta

Omega)

Zoology Co-ed Fraternity

Member since 2019

Bowling league after

highschool.

Dean's list

NHS (National Honors

society) in high school

Bowling captain during

highschool

LANGUAGES

English.

Can speak only a little: Korean

and Spanish

Helped answer a variety of questions for guests about animals. List of animals I have directly worked with: Kinkajou, tamarins, lemurs, coatimundis, sloth, cavies, llamas, goats, reindeer, hyena, a variety of bird species, wolves, cougars, pigs, vervet monkeys, genet, fennec fox, arctic fox, north american porcupine, african porcupine, horses, donkeys, snake, tortoise, turtles, emus, kookaburra, camel, ducks, otters.

Pet Project, Marseilles, IL — Volunteer Volunteer

June 2017 - July 2019

Worked with dogs and cats, feeding, cleaning, enrichment. EDUCATION

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL —

Bachelor’s in Zoology

August 2019 - May 2021

Graduated with a major in Zoology and a minor in Psychology. GPA 3.3

Illinois Valley Community College, Oglesby, IL —

Associate in Science

August 2017 - May 2019

Associate in Science Degree

REFERENCES