Get the Intern Experience

As you may have learned through our website, IEAS has become the leading facility offering animal husbandry internships with exotic felines and bears. Interns who participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity leave here with more than just knowledge about basic animal husbandry. Interns participate in all aspects of running a sanctuary such as IEAS. Additionally, Interns partake in three classes offered at IEAS: Laws and Regulations Class, Grant and Proposal Writing Class and Firearms Handling Class to mention a few. There have been a number of interns who have helped raise funds for the Sanctuary either through writing grants or proposals. Interns have received donations of paint, bleach, a weedeater, a chainsaw, and garden sprayer while others have received monetary grants from various foundations. This is a skill that will be very helpful in the animal field as many places such as ours operate soley on donations and in-kind gifts.

Interns also become aware of the Laws and Regulations regarding the private ownership of exotic animals through our Laws and Regulations Class. Each intern personally learns about their laws in their home state as they are required to look them up.

On Monday, the interns completed the Firearms Handling Class. This course teaches the basic use and safety factors of working with firearms. After a classroom setting, the interns later are able to go out into the field and put their new found knowledge to the test. This was the second time through for five of the interns, so it was more of a refresher course, but it was the first time for Kevin and Whitney.

Each of these classes is designed to benefit interns if they wish to pursue a career in the animal world. The majority of the interns that have completed the program here at IEAS have moved on to other reputable facilities to provide quality care for animals. We have former interns pursuing their animal careers at a number of major zoos across the United States such as St. Louis Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Nashville Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Denver Zoo, and Columbus Zoo. We also have interns working for animal welfare organizations such as governmental, state, and environmental agencies.