Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.

David Orndorff, animal care manager for the San Diego Zoo, was our bird tour guide last week. He has worked with animals for over 36 years. We were privileged to learn about the different types of birds that live in various parts of the world. We saw first hand what it takes to care for and maintain a bird exhibit. We were surprised by the different diets of each bird, and how keepers are able to catch birds in the exhibit without injuring them.

Mr. Orndorff’s career began with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Florida. While living in Florida, he worked with a rescue and salvage research station for sharks and fish. Once he completed his degree, he relocated to California and began raising infant animals at Lion Country Safari. He then worked as a medical technician for marine mammals at SeaWorld. SeaWorld sent him to Iceland to collect killer whale data, and to Antarctica to collect data on penguins. After 16 years of working at SeaWorld, he came to work for the San Diego Zoo.

One of the most important tasks Mr. Orndorff and his bird keeper team perform is replicating and preparing a bird’s diet as if they were living in the wild. Some of the ingredients that are found in the bird food trays at the Zoo are cut up mice, fish, crickets, worms, sunflower seeds, and apples. Oddly enough, some birds are fed dog food because they are carnivores and it has similar nutrients to the food that they would eat in the wild.

Another important skill in caring for birds is in knowing how to catch them without injuring them. Birds are caught when they show signs of injury or illness. The most efficient way to catch a bird is by placing food inside a small safety cage and attaching a string to the door. When the bird enters the cage for food, the string is pulled and the bird is caught. Amazingly simple! With the bird captured, the keepers are able to perform checkups and/or necessary treatments. All of the birds receive daily visual checks to assess their overall health and to ensure that they are not overly stressed. The keepers actually do a head count every day as well. This is simple enough in the small exhibits but the Owens Rain Forest Aviary has three levels and contains hundreds of birds representing dozens of species! Tough work even for a professional bird watcher.

Having a job as a bird keeper can be physically demanding, mentally challenging, and is pretty dirty work. The range of duties and responsibilities of being a bird keeper include making sure the exhibit layout works well for the resident birds, knowing how to care for all species of birds (from tiny hummingbirds to large raptors), and even working to prevent extinction in the wild. This job is ideal for a person with a lot of patience, who loves getting their hands, and mind, into a wide variety of endeavors.

-Elizabeth, Zoo internquest, Careers Team

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