Project Title: Common Health Disorders Among Wildlife and Their Causes
BASIS Advisor: Mr. Barnes
Internship Location: Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley
Onsite Mentor: Ms. Anna Van Patten
The purpose of this project is to research the most common health disorders that affect wildlife and also determine the origin of the disorders. In my attempt to pinpoint the origin of the disorder, I will be able to share the potential cause with researchers, biologists, and environmentalists to contribute to their research. The Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley will aid my research with the help of their staff and wildlife veterinarians. As part of my project, I will admit animals to WCSV and shadow the veterinarian as he or she treats them. As soon as I have enough information about the condition for which the animal has been brought in, I will narrow down my area of focus to one species and expand on the biology of the disorders found in this species. By focusing on only one species, I can better spend my time making my project detailed and accurate. I expect to find multiple common disorders and their causes. I hope to share my findings with WCSV, state or local wildlife agencies, and the EPA as well. The significance of this project is related to the plethora of disorders wild animals typically are admitted with. A disease from a wild animal could easily spread to other wildlife or even pets. Animals, wild or domesticated, should be safe from all harmful disorders.
My Posts
Week 10: Running through Data
Apr 29, 2019
Week 9 was my last week at the internship, however, I will still choose to go whenever I want to help out, see everybody again, or collect more data. During Week 10, I went on to visiting colleges but was still able to finish reading all of the books I needed for research. This was […]
Week 8 and 9: more babies
Apr 15, 2019
These past two weeks have consisted of the same stuff. I have been working on all of the new squirrels and possums being admitted by making formula and different growth stage plates and feeding them every couple hours. Because I have started to take the afternoon shift of 12-4, I no longer work on the […]
week 7: weaning baby squirrels 🐿
Apr 03, 2019
guess what Boyz BABY SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE!!! I walked in Monday and the whole place looked completely bombarded with baby squirrels. There were three whole new racks for all of the squirrels that were brought in. Although being a newbie I wasn’t assigned to them, I was still allowed to help with feeding them […]
week 6: little baby birds
Mar 31, 2019
Week 6 was a main focus on bird babies! Because busy season was still starting, the amount of birds we got in was crazy. We had all sorts of birds filling in the racks ranging from pigeons to doves to dark-eyed juncos to robins to thrushes to flickers and manyyyyy more. These birds were coming […]
Week 5: my American Coot
Mar 24, 2019
Week 5 of my project had been completely normal, with me still working with hawks, pigeons, and possums. On Monday, however, I happened to be taking a walk at the park when I noticed an American Coot (duck) limping far more than usual. It was so bad that it could barely walk to get the […]
Week 4: Capturing Red-Tailed Hawks
Mar 18, 2019
Week 4 started off the same as most other weeks, with me tending to the pigeons, possums, and doves. As I got more and more qualified to deal with the larger animals, on Wednesday I was assigned to the G and R enclosures which hold raptors. In each was one red-tailed hawk. After observing how […]
Week 3: Possum Diets Are… Interesting
Mar 12, 2019
Week 3 at WCSV was hectic. Busy season is slowly upon us with all the squirrel and bird babies falling out of their nests. More and more large animals were also being brought in such as owls, hawks, possums, and turkeys. One of the possums brought in had grown into a cable tie that she […]
Week 2: Bandaging Red Tailed Hawks
Mar 04, 2019
My second week consisted of a much more vigorous schedule. As busy season is starting to come around, more and more animals are being brought in. During my second week, two red-tailed hawks were brought in with one suffering wing injuries and the other suffering malnourishment. Being assigned to their enclosure within only the second […]
Week 1: Learning How to Work with Wild Animals
Feb 25, 2019
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 […]