Janey Kramlik

Janey is a veterinary technician and lead keeper at the Brandywine Zoo where she currently completes daily health check-ins with animal keeper staff, triages acute animal health casas, and works with the zoo’s veterinarian when she is on site. She is the liaison between animal care staff, curatorial staff, the veterinarian, and the animals she advocates for. Her tasks change every day, and she works with animal keepers for behavioral training for voluntary medical procedures. Janey is also on her zoo’s safety committee, which entails reviewing and designing procedures to make the zoo a safer place for visitors, staff, and animals.

Growing up, Janey was initially afraid of animals due to limited exposure to them, which changed when she got a cat as a child and gradually had more animal exposure as a kennel worker as a teen and with livestock in college. After graduating from high school, Janey attended the University of Delaware and earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science (Pre-vet). While in college, Janey learned that there were many more opportunities to work with animals besides being a veterinarian, but she was still unsure about what career to follow when she graduated. Janey applied to a few zoos and was lucky to be offered a part-time keeper position at the Brandywine Zoo, as she had no zoo experience but a strong domestic animal background. Since then, Janey has worked in almost every animal area at the zoo and can jump into any area when needed.

Janey’s favorite part of her job is seeing animals healthy and behaving as they should. Her advice for aspiring animal keepers is to gain as much experience with animals in any capacity that you can. Every encounter counts! Janey has a soft spot in her heart for felids and a preference for mammals but has a great appreciation for all animals, furry, feathered, and scaly.