What Does a Zoologist Study?
What does a zoologist study? A person who is a zoologist is a biologist whose special focus is animals of various species. Studies of zoology can also be broken down into smaller categories depending on the type of animal being studied. Zoologists perform a wide range of tasks related to the health, environments, study of, and inspection of animals of all types. In general, however, what zoologists study is animals.
Although we know that animals are what a zoologist studies, understanding exactly how zoologists study animals is also an important part of knowing what a zoologist does.
Zoologists focus on topics that range from the origin of a species to the interaction between various species, to research meant to determine why an animal might be becoming endangered. They can also focus on areas as broad as the behavior of a pack of lions… or as minute as functioning of a lion’s brain.
Natural and Captive Environments
The study of zoology can take place both in natural environments and places of captivity. They may be studying the animals themselves, or they may be found in laboratories studying only the animal’s cells.
Caring for and Researching Animals
Those with experience and degrees in zoology tend to work in jobs that are dedicated to caring for and researching animals; many are employed by the government and many others work for non-profit organizations. Others are employed by colleges, where they work within the biology departments and perform research while teaching various classes.
Categories of Study
The field of zoology can be broken down into categories based on the type of animal with which the zoologist performs specialized research. Understanding these categories is important to knowing what zoologists study. For example:
- Ornithologists are those who focus on birds
- Herpetologists work primarily with the reptile kingdom
- Ichthylogists study fish
- Mammalogists study mammals
Specializations of Study
Most zoologists move into a specialized area during their degree study and typically remain focused within it, since there are so many species inside each category. However, it is not unheard of to work with more than one category of animals, particularly in less-scientific work such as environmental observation.
Preparing to Become a Zoologist
Those interested in working in zoology, regardless of what type of position they’re seeking, should have at least a Master’s degree; this would be enough to enable the person to get a job working with animals, observing them, and performing various other hands on tasks. For anything more in-depth, a person should typically have a PhD degree, particularly if they plan to teach or perform extended studies and research. The degree should be in biology and ideally include some specialized time performing studies on animals.
Most zoologists also have strong backgrounds in chemistry and math, which translate well to the laboratory and research settings. Internships at veterinarians, zoos, laboratories, or governmental animal-related offices give a person great experience that can put them far ahead of the competition when it comes time to find a job: as with many scientific professions, there is no substitute for hands-on experience.