WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS AT DRUSILLAS
Drusillas Park is a family-run business founded in 1922, when the late Captain Ann bought a derelict farm and 20 acres of land and opened the cottage to sell teas to passing motorists. He named the tea rooms after his first wife Drusilla, adding attractions and animals to help boost trade.
Drusillas remained in the Ann family until 1997 when it was acquired by current owners Laurence and Christine Smith. In the past five years Drusillas has won a number of prestigious accolades, including Best Visitor Attraction of the Year in the South East England Tourism Awards and Company of the Year in the Sussex Business Awards.
One of the many experiences at Drusillas is Zoo Keeper for the Day scheme is a unique, once in a lifetime experience for anyone who is mad about animals!
Help and work alongside one of the Zoo Keepers and discover what it is like to feed, clean and care for a variety of our furry and feathered friends with this one-on-one experience. This value for money opportunity gives a real insight into the working lives of keepers and a realistic impression of the work that is involved on a day to day basis.
The day starts at 10am when you will be met by your dedicated Keeper and includes activities such as – capybara, penguin, beaver, meerkat and even lemur feeding! There is also the chance to see and have a go at preparing feeds and enrichment for some of the animals. The exact itinerary will be confirmed on the day.
Participants will be provided with a special Drusillas Park Keeper for the Day sweatshirt or polo shirt to wear throughout the day. This is then yours to take home as a souvenir. Lunch is included for the participant and you have the opportunity to invite up to four additional family members into the Park at a discounted rate. The day finishes at approximately 3:30pm with the presentation of a certificate and some truly great memories to treasure. Participants and accompanying family members are then free to explore the Park after the experience has finished.
The experience is extremely popular with dates being booked up well in advance. Consequently we advise you to telephone our booking office on 01323 874100 to check availability before completing and returning the booking form.
Drusillas look forward to welcoming you to the Park and hope you have a zoooper experience! Don’t forget your camera!
Prices
They have three price categories;
Gold - £225 for weekends, East Sussex school holidays and inset days
Silver - £180 for term time weekdays only
Bronze - £140 for term time weekdays throughout Jan, Feb, March, Oct, Nov and Dec only
Gold, Silver and Bronze price categories all include a special Zoo Keeper for the Day sweatshirt or polo shirt, a hot lunch in the Explorers Cafe and a personalised Zoo Keeper for the Day certificate signed by the Zoo Manager.
Drusillas Annual Members receive a 10% discount! This discount only applies if a current Drusillas Annual Member is actually partaking in the Keeper for the Day.
Minimum age is 6 years, No maximum age!!
How to Become a Zookeeper UK
So you want to work with animals but not sure what it involves? Drusillas have put this a handy pack together on how to become a zookeeper!
Working at a Zoo
Working at a zoo is an incredibly rewarding experience. A love of animals is essential for anyone who is thinking of becoming a zookeeper. Every zoo is divided up into different sections and keepers will either work in one specialist section or across a variety of different ones. The keepers at Drusillas work across a number of different sections, so life as a keeper here is very varied and exciting.
You’ll spend your days taking care of our animals, from feeding to cleaning to health checks and more. Zoos play an incredibly important role in conservation and species preservation, so your role as a keeper is vital in ensuring the survival of species that face extinction in the wild. You will be our animals’ primary carers so you’ll need to give them a lot of love, care and attention.
Working as a Zookeeper is not just playing with animals all day! A career as a zookeeper requires dedication, hard work and sometimes long hours. You’ll work outdoors a lot of the time and spend most of the day on your feet. But, that said, zookeeping is one of the most rewarding and enriching careers around. You’ll form close bonds with some incredible animals, you don’t have to sit behind a stuffy desk, you’ll spend your days working with the weird and the wonderful and you’ll experience true comradery with your fellow keepers. There really is no career quite like working in a zoo. For more information… https://www.drusillas.co.uk/how-to-become-a-zookeeper