Welcome Ryan, our fall red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Ryan!  He will be the red wolf caretaker intern at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for September through December 2014. 

Ryan was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, which is located just across the Mississippi River in the suburbs of Saint Louis, Missouri. He graduated in May 2013 from Southeast Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife/Conservation Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. After graduation, he worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation as a fisheries field biologist traveling statewide sampling various fish species and performing water quality surveys in streams and rivers. He also was an intern at The Wilds in Ohio, and participated in their Eastern Hellbender reintroduction program.  At The Wilds, he also assisted with herpetology and carnivore field and research work. Most recently, he has been interning at Pocosin Lakes NWR since April before joining us this month.

Ryan has always enjoyed being outside and seeing what nature has to offer. In his spare time he likes to hike, fish, camp, travel, attend sporting events (especially St. Louis Cardinals baseball), and spend time with family and friends. His goal is to become a wildlife biologist or zookeeper working with carnivores, fish, or herpetology. He hopes to eventually attend graduate school to get his M.Sc. degree and further a career in wildlife research and conservation. He is passionate about working with endangered and threatened species, especially carnivores.

We’re lucky to have Ryan as he brings a wonderful skill set of animal handling skills, knowledge of carnivore biology, and passion to protect and conserved imperiled species to this position. 

Welcome Ryan!

Welcome Jeremy, our summer red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Jeremy!  He will be the red wolf caretaker intern April through August 2014. 

Jeremy was born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri. As a high school student, he began volunteering in the Saint Louis Zoo’s Zoo ALIVE teen education program.  Soon after, he joined the Zoo’s education department as a full-time employee.  At the Zoo, his mission is to nurture respect for animals and their habitats, and to promote conservation action by providing educational opportunities and experiences.  After five years assisting with these educational programs, Jeremy switched gears and is now a seasonal carnivore keeper at the Zoo. He is excited to see the new Andean bear, sun bear, and painted dog habitats--all of which will open this summer!

Jeremy graduated from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis in May of 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He is considering attending graduate school to earn a a Masters in conservation biology with a focus on carnivores.  Jeremy also has spent some time at another Red Wolf Species Survival Plan facility, the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC; Saint Louis, MO).  He participated in the EWC internship program and continues to volunteer there. He is very thankful to the EWC for inspiring him to pursue a career working with carnivores.

Jeremy and wild red wolf pup in the Red Wolf Recovery Area.

We’re lucky to have Jeremy as he brings a wealth of education and outreach experience, animal handling skills, and knowledge of carnivore biology to this position.  During the summer, we receive many visitors to this region and we’re grateful for his assistance and outreach support.

Welcome Jeremy!

Welcome Cameron, our winter red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Cameron!  He is the red wolf caretaker intern from January through April 2014. 

Cameron was born in Indiana, but grew up in central North Carolina with his brother, sister, and parents. Lately, he resides where the work is, often traveling between Minnesota, Mississippi, Indiana, and North Carolina depending on the job outlook. 

Outside of work, Cameron enjoys drawing, birding, hiking, and traveling the states, often to catch up with old and new friends he has met along the way. He has visited the majority of all 50 states, most recently reaching Alaska, where he spent the better part of a week in Denali National Park, taking in the natural scenery and magnificent wildlife. 

Recently, Cameron graduated from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology: Ecology and Evolution. In between semesters at WCU, Cameron participated in internships at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.

Though Cameron's studies are primarily focused around wolf behavior and management, he has also worked in a multitude of other studies and projects, including endangered gopher frog recovery efforts in southern Mississippi, elk population dynamics in western North Carolina, and song sparrow boldness and aggression in western North Carolina. There are many species in need out there, but Cameron always seems to find himself back with wolves again.

  

We’re lucky to have Cameron as he brings a wealth of experience, animal handling skills, and knowledge of wolf biology and endangered species recovery to this position.  As winter is our busiest field season, we’re grateful for his assistance and field support.

Welcome Cameron!

Welcome Kate, the new red wolf caretaker intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Kate!  She is the red wolf caretaker intern from September through December 2013. 

Kate grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and continues to reside there with her family when she’s not working remotely.  Some of her favorite things to do are reading, horseback riding, hiking, and watching British television.  She also love music and played clarinet in the marching band for six years.  Kate graduated in 2012 from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.Sc. degree in Biology.  Since then, she has worked in different internship programs to gain experience and figure out what she wants to do next professionally.  Her goal is to be involved in animal care and research of terrestrial carnivores such as wolves and big cats.  Her main research interest is studying social communication within groups of animals.  Kate has a wide range of research experience with various species, including sea turtles in North Carolina and Florida, and sulfur butterflies in the Colorado Rockies.  She also studied abroad in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands two years ago and got to put her scuba certification to good use.  Within North Carolina, she also spent a summer working at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, and had the opportunity to overcome an intense fear of snakes.  By the end, she was a convert and was handling the snakes regularly at the museum; however, she still maintains a healthy distance from them in the wild. 

 

We’re lucky to have Kate as she enjoys the challenges of new experiences and is an incredibly dedicated worker.  She also knows her way around the refuge already, she was a General Refuge intern at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge this past summer and explored and gained useful knowledge about the native wildlife.   She looks forward to learning more about red wolves, gaining additional animal care experience, and assisting with the efforts of the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Welcome Kate!

Please welcome Lizzy, the new Red Wolf Recovery Program intern!

Please help us welcome our most recent addition to the Red Wolf Recovery Program, Lizzy!  She is the red wolf caretaker intern from April through August 2013. 

Lizzy grew up in Herndon, Virginia and attended the University of Delaware, where she double majored in Wildlife Conservation and Agriculture & Natural Resources. Since she was a kid, animals and nature have always been her two biggest passions, due in part of the fact she was in Girl Scouts for 13 years. Lizzy has always known that working with wolves would be her end goal, and she is very happy that she’s received the opportunity to make this dream into reality.

We are very lucky to have her part of the program, as she brings lots of experience from a variety of different wildlife jobs, beginning with teaching hunter education for Vermont Fish & Wildlife, teaching animal education at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, and husbandry for a wide variety of animals at Plumpton Park Zoo in Maryland. Lizzy began working with wolves at the Wolf Education and Research Center in Idaho, where she cared for wolves and participated in visitor education programs. Now, Lizzy is continuing this path with the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Photo credit: USFWS/R. Nordsven

Long term, Lizzy’s goal is to continue working with wolves and become a wolf biologist. Living out a childhood dream has already been an incredible experience for her, and she’s sure it can only get better from here. She is still figuring out the next role after this position, but we’re excited to have her here now, and you can guarantee her future will have something to do with animals and improving their world.

Welcome Lizzy!