A wildlife ecologist studies the relationships and interactions among wildlife, their habitats, landscapes, ecosystems, and people.
The most important thing to bring to any profession or field of study is PASSION! My excitement about wildlife and nature leads to curiosity, interest, dedication, and perseverance. One can compensate for gaps in knowledge, but it’s hard to compensate for a lack of passion! Love what you do.
How do wild Asiatic black bears in China respond to protected nature reserves? How do different habitats affect production of stress hormones in bears?
My research uses a variety of wildlife tracking equipment. Some of the coolest tools we use are Global Positioning System (GPS) collars that can record locations of collared animals many times per day. A memory card stores information which can later be mapped and analyzed using a computer.
I tracked a female American black bear who was one of the best mothers I’ve met. Black bears typically have a litter of cubs every other year, and this mother had two litters of five cubs in three years. All 10 cubs were large and grew up healthy.
Thanks to our parents, my brother, Randall, and I were fascinated with nature from the start. One of the first words I learned to spell was m-u-s-e-u-m! We collected fossils and caught snakes as kids, too. Studying and protecting nature has been a dream as long as I can remember.
