05/09/2022 I interned at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center for my scholar’s practicum. This is a wildlife rehabilitation hospital in Boyce, Virginia. I found this site by searching online for wildlife internships and came across it. I read into the site and learned that they were one of the biggest wildlife rehabilitation centers in the DMV area. I reached out to their manager, Ms. Jessica Andersen and applied to be an intern for the summer of 2021. When I started, I was slowly introduced to tasks that got me familiar with how the hospital ran. I shadowed the doctor and learned how to feed some of the animals. I started off with learning how to safely catch birds to weight them and feed them. I learned about the different bird species through this and how baby birds mature. The food was different for each bird species, whether it was formula, seeds, worms, or fruit. Some of the species I worked with were blue jays, cardinals, eastern meadowlarks, and chimney swifts. After getting skilled at feeding and moving the birds, I learned to give them oral medications and helped make supplements for them. I had never actually touched a bird before this internship, but I was surprised when the skills I learned to handle birds came to use. I was in Disney world with my family and a pigeon was stuck inside of a shop and everyone was freaking out. The bird was clearly in distress and was repeatedly flying into the glass window, trying to escape outside. I was able to step up and catch the bird and release him back outside. It was neat to see what I had learned actually help a bird in the wild. Furthermore, at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center I got to work with opossums, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, skunks, hawks, ravens, owls, and turtles. I learned about the different diseases associated with foxes, skunks, and raccoons and how to safely interact with them. As well, I was taught about the behaviors of the small mammals and helped design temporary outdoor enclosures that would simulate the wild for them while they were in recovery. My favorite thing that I learned was how to give subcutaneous injections to box turtles. It was awesome to watch the turtles recover after caring for them days in a row and seeing the medications and proper nutrition nurse them back to health. I was able to understand how different drug interactions with the bodies of these animals assisted them in healing. I also got to participate in a surgery where we removed a hook from the intestinal tract of a snapping turtle. I saw the inside structures of the turtles’ organs. I loved working here and the experience with wild animals has made me investigate working in some type of position involved in wildlife conservation. An organization called Animal Legal Defense Fund is particularly interesting to me because it helps create and try to pass laws regarding humane treatment of wild and domestic animals. I found a new appreciation for the wild animals around us and believe that it is humans’ jobs to help protect them with how much we have done to hurt their natural environment. I advise any scholars students looking for a practicum project to try something they have never done before. I had worked at a small animal hospital for three years prior to this internship and I think it was really cool to explore other types of animals as well. I would be happy to chat with any scholars student interested in an animal practicum project because I believe interning at a wild animal hospital or domestic animal hospital would be a great opportunity to get hands on experience if you are on the path to vet school, animal management or animal law school.
