zoo curator
Zoo curators are usually the position of middle-management within an institution. Much of their work involves oversight, management and development of the animal collection. Often this is related to animal husbandry and welfare policy, the acquisition and disposition of zoo animals, and development of new exhibits. Zoos normally acquire animals through captive breeding programs. The zoo collection, trade, and transport of the animals is regulated by government agencies as well as guided by zoo membership organisations. Consequently, zoo curators act as a liaison between these agencies and the zoo itself. Additionally, they play an active role in the administration of zoo functions and all kinds of captive breeding programs.
zoo curator zoo curators are usually the position of middle-management within an institution. Much of their work involves oversight, management and development of the animal collection. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include animal acquisition, zoo regulations, animal evolution, animal welfare legislation, physiology of animals.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £36,026 a year for Leisure and sports managers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £28,154 to £42,756 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 1224). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only zoo curator, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- History and Archeology
- Fine Arts
- Administration and Management
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Communications and Media
- Administrative
- Education and Training
What you'd actually do
- Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials.
- Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.
- Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
- Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.
- Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
- Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does zoo curator do?
Zoo curators are usually the position of middle-management within an institution. Much of their work involves oversight, management and development of the animal collection. Often this is related to animal husbandry and welfare policy, the acquisition and disposition of zoo animals, and development of new exhibits. Zoos normally acquire animals through captive breeding programs.
What skills does zoo curator need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include animal acquisition, zoo regulations, animal evolution, animal welfare legislation, physiology of animals, corporate social responsibility. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace zoo curator?
Our AI-durability model gives zoo curator a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.