Career Day: Wildlife Veterinary & Rehabilitation Session
The Wildlife Veterinary & Rehabilitation session, facilitated by Kayla Shelley, gave incredible insight into the amazing careers you can pursue when you make Earth your boss! Kayla, a member of the K-12 Team, is a senior studying animal science and education at Cornell University with plans to study at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine-Master of Public Health dual degree program. Kayla expressed her excitement about increasing diversity and inclusion in conservation education, and we are excited to see her do just that in her career in veterinary medicine!
Our first panelist, Dr. Sara Childs-Sanford, is a Wildlife Veterinarian at Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital at Cornell, treating native wildlife in New York State. Her love for science and fascination with nature led her to begin working in a small zoo in her hometown. After 15 long years of school and training, she began working with her dream patients, wild animals. She mostly works with birds, treating them for injuries often caused by people, cats, cars, toxins, and windows. However, her favorite patient is the North American porcupine because they are a challenge! Dr. Child-Sanford emphasized that even successful people are not happy every day, but overall, your job should bring you joy! She ultimately recommends for aspiring veterinarians to find mentors that will support you as active participants in your journey.
Dr. Barry Hartup, located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, was our second panelist. He is the Director of Conservation Medicine for the International Crane Foundation (ICF) and practices veterinary medicine by working in the field and teaching future veterinarians. His non-linear career path shows how divergent your career path can be before landing where you are meant to be! He began with an interest in biology in high school before attending the University of Wisconsin, where he studied Rhesus Macaque monkeys. Now at the ICF, he loves teaching and recovering species.
Dr. Hartup has had pretty incredible experiences in his job – he has traveled to Rwanda to treat Grey Crowned Cranes and even saw mountain gorillas in the Congo’s volcano region! To those looking for a career in wildlife conservation medicine, he encourages developing your writing and public speaking skills to communicate the importance of what you are and hope to be doing. Also, keep exploring, build a network, and work hard because the journey never ends!
Kira Klebe, the Rehabilitation Director at World Bird Sanctuary (WBS) in Missouri, shared awesome information about raptor rehabilitation. Growing up, she loved Animorphs, a book series where the main characters turn into any animal they touch. As she grew older, volunteering provided her with many job-relevant skills, which she highly recommends to get involved in rehabilitation. Now, at the WBS, she takes in injured birds, treats them for injuries, and releases them back into the wild. Her daily job involves giving wound care, maintaining enclosures, and assisting with surgeries. Although it is difficult to see injured animals that primarily come in from being hit by cars, she loves seeing birds’ health improve.
Her favorite patient has been Sophia the Bearded Vulture, but she also loves Broad-wing Hawks because, despite their small size, they are feisty and have an amazing migration story. She suggests spending time doing hobbies outside of work to relax, ask professionals a lot of questions, and volunteer in a variety of places.
The final panelist, Dr. Robin Radcliffe, is a Wildlife Veterinarian for free-ranging animals all over the world, from Africa to Indonesia to Alaska. Growing up, his outdoorsy family exposed him to wild animals and raptors, which encouraged him to work with wild animal populations. Radcliffe started in Wisconsin and Minnesota for his undergraduate and graduate years and later worked at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center before getting board-certified for zoo and wildlife medicine. During his career, Radcliffe has worked with gyrfalcons, Great Apes from Africa and Indonesia, and rhinos from Africa. He even took a boat and trekked through the jungle to try to see a javan rhino! Amazingly, he shared that rhinos are often transported via helicopters hanging upside down, which is harmless, to protect them from poaching. A highlight of his career was writing The Hornless Rhinoceros with Jane Goodall, a book they distributed to children in regions with rhinos to increase local and young peoples’ awareness of conservation needs. Dr. Radcliffe also developed a Cornell course called Conservation with Communities for One Health, which integrates life and social sciences with humanities by recognizing the connection between human, animal, and environmental health. He recommends utilizing college to find a mentor, prepare for international work with language courses, and improve writing skills for grant proposals and scientific reports. He also urges you all to pave your own path, unafraid to make mistakes! Lastly, he recommends finding ways to help conservation in your everyday life by being mindful of your consumption, buying locally, and growing your own food.
Interested in a career in wildlife medicine and rehabilitation? Our panelists provided outstanding stories that prove how taking care of animals is an incredibly fulfilling way to aid conservation efforts. All the panelists emphasized that wildlife medicine can be competitive, so it is important to stand out by networking, volunteering early to gain experience and exposure, and having excellent written communication skills. We hope their words inspired you to make the Earth your boss! Check out the following career/job resources: The Student Conservation Association, and Texas A&M job board, and student organizations like 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Boys and Girls Club. No matter what you end up doing, your career should make you happy and fulfilled!