Franziska Freudensprung

Animal caretaker assistant

My name is Franziska and I currently work as animal keeper assistant at the WSC. I have been surrounded by a variety of animal species since I was a child and I can no longer imagine life without animals. My greatest wish to have a dog as part of our family came true at the age of 10.

I got to know the WSC in 2015 when I was researching my photographic thesis on the topic of “Humans and Dogs”. At the time, I was particularly fascinated by the “string pulling test,” in which the animals had to cooperate in order to get a food reward.

However, I quickly noticed that I was missing an important subject in class - biology! Therefore, I decided to study a bachelor's degree in biology with a focus on Zoology at the main University of Vienna. I then delved even deeper into the subject of human-animal relationships and completed the interdisciplinary Master of Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Veterinary Medicine. Over the years, my dream of working with animals has become more and more confirmed. For me, however, the ethical aspect is always in the foreground. The respectful treatment of the animals at the WSC can therefore be wonderfully compatible with my attitudes.

In my opinion, the WSC combines exactly my interests: working with canids and the practical implementation of scientific projects!