2015 Year in Review: Adrie Voors, Relief Front-Desk Coordinator
This year I became initiated to the Wildlife Center's front desk springtime phone calls.
This year I became initiated to the Wildlife Center's front desk springtime phone calls.
Looking back on 2015, I realized that I had made several great friends here at the Wildlife Center, but one, in particular, was special. His name is Papa G’Ho.
As an outreach coordinator for the Wildlife Center of Virginia, my job is primarily to go out into the community – in-person, online, or through other mediums – and teach others about the Center, wildlife, and how we all can take an active role in helping wildlife. Sounds simple enough, right?
The request to write a piece about a *memorable moment* from the past year is always a difficult one for me. Partly because … who remembers?
Since starting my rehabilitation internship at the Center, I have had the opportunity to care for squirrels, opossums, raptors, songbirds, reptiles, and many other patients … but by far some of my favorite patients to care for have to be the Black Bear cubs.
I have always felt driven to find a path to work with wildlife. With my children nearly raised and my career heading in a meaningful direction, now seemed like the time to get my foot in that door. My 12-week rehabilitation externship at the WCV has been an amazing and significant experience that has expanded my knowledge base, skill, and muscles in a myriad of ways. I learned that being a wildlife rehabilitator is a hard, hard job. I learned that is a wonderful job.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No. It’s a … cigar?
At the end of December 2011, one of our supporters sent us a donation, along with this explanation. Since then, she continues the tradition every holiday season. With the 2015 holiday season upon us, we thought you would enjoy reading this as much as we do every year at this time!
Hello, I’m Adam Lepold, a recent graduate of UW-Wisconsin who has a love for animals, brains, and animals' brains. Over the course of my studies, I have learned about many of the amazing abilities of animal brains that are still baffling the world’s top researchers. I’m going to tell you all some cool stuff about mammalian brains and why true hibernating mammals have some of the coolest brains.
I learned about wildlife rehabilitation from my biology advisor about two years ago. I didn’t know much about the field, but I want to be a veterinarian one day, working with wildlife. This externship seemed like it would be a great match, and I would get a chance to gain some animal experience. What I didn’t know was that this field was female-dominated.