Week 1: Learning How to Work with Wild Animals

I currently intern at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley for four hours a day, four days a week.

My first day consisted of orientation, where I learned some ground rules and got familiar with the whole area. While I hadn’t actually started my internship job, I was still allowed to cut up some mice and apples for the possums.

My second day consisted of starting work on Table One, which mainly carries the isolated birds, such as pigeons and doves. I took them out of their box, weighed them, cleaned their cages, gave them fresh food and water, and then gave them their medications before returning them to their box. I also got familiar with the baby bird barn, where baby birds are quietly kept and cared for until they are strong enough to return to the wild.

My third and fourth days were a repeat of my second day until I was good enough to move on to the bigger animals.

Throughout this week, I was able to get a sense of the disorders animals are brought in with. For example, the main thing birds are admitted for are broken wings or cat attacks. I was able to ask the veterinary technician questions and statistics on every new animal being admitted, providing a bottom layer for the admitted animal database I will later form. This collection of information on the admitted animals will allow me to group them and disorders to aid my research. I was also able to observe many intakes, where the vet tech diagnoses the animal and decides upon the best treatment.