“The student will be involved with animal projects, choosing from a variety of positions and/or research offering hands-on experience in aspects of animal care, training, and/or observation. At present, internships are available which apply to large marine mammal observation and training, marine mammal conservation (including an internship involving a National Geographic research team), canine training for behavioral problems and canine training for help with human disabilities. Internships are continually being developed in this program. Permission of instructor required.” – UNE Catalog
The Animal Behavior Internship/Research course allows students to chose an internship they want to do and complete it throughout the semester, along with attending a course once a week to learn useful information from UNE’s career services. For my internship, I interned at Saco River Wildlife Center (SRWC), a wildlife rehabilitation center located in Limington, ME. This position allowed for me to explore areas that concern wildlife and wildlife rehabilitation. I had the opportunity to learn more about various scientific fields, including wildlife biology, animal behavior, wildlife ecology, animal husbandry, and veterinary science. As an intern, I gained experience in these fields by handling and coming in close proximity with wildlife species, such as raccoons, opossums, foxes, skunks, bats, squirrels, porcupines, coyotes, woodchucks, fishers, and much more. Interning allowed me to gain knowledge about the various species’ diets, habitats, and conservation needs. Daily duties included hand-feeding baby mammals, monitoring animal conditions, habitat maintenance, administering medications (if needed), preparing food, laundry, and cleaning. To synthesis what I learned and conducted at my internship, students were also required to complete a presentation of their work.
I chose this wildlife rehabilitation center initially last summer – May of 2019 – when I started accumulating hours for my Animal Behavior internship. I have always been passionate and dedicated to helping and working with wildlife, ensuring their needs are met and they are taken care to the best of my ability, as we tread among their natural habitat. After completing my internship in the middle of August 2019, I then started going occasionally to the center once Fall semester of 2019 started. Once the previous semester, Spring 2020, came around, I still needed hours for my Animal Behavior internship and again chose SRWC because they are like family to me now and I love volunteering/interning there because I have gained a lot of experience with various species. SRWC is a place that has a friendly and open environment, taking care of one another as we care for the wildlife we receive, and taking care of any animals we have to our utmost ability. If not for SRWC, I can say I would not be where I am today without the hands-on experience, the learning and knowledge, and the training I received from this center. Below I have provided some pictures of species I’ve worked with at my internship! Enjoy!
