The Placement Post

So last week I received the news that finally put my placement year pieces together... and its a big'un. After applying and undergoing a very quick selection process, I have been accepted to be part of a research team on a primate and predator project in South Africa!!

I will be working mostly with the monkeys. This seems crazy as I am a big cat person, but, monkeys are fascinating and ever since I cuddled baby baboons in Namibia last year, they definitely have a bit of my heart. On the project I will be tracking and recording data for Chacma Baboons, Vervet Monkeys, Samango Monkeys , Thick-tailed Bushbabies and Southern Lesser Bushbabies along with understanding how predation by Leopards and Hyenas affect the populations.

The idea of spending 3 months in the African Mountains is a little daunting, to say the least, but it's going to be an amazing adventure. On the plus side once I return at Christmas I will have a nice tan. 

Now that I have found all my placements I decided that it maybe nice to share what I have learnt with you all. This doesn't only apply to people who are in biological sciences, everyone should be able to find some useful information; whether that it is what I have learnt from the whole experience or using some of the websites I found useful to aid you in finding work abroad!

So lets begin...
1. When companies and charities come into your university, ATTEND! This is how I first heard about the Chester Zoo programme. Going and speaking to the people who are part of the application process doesn't just help you understand the role that you are applying for but it also means you can mention who you met if you get called for interviews.

2. If you meet someone remember who they are!! I have had problems when trying to remember who I have met and what their role is. Take a notepad with you, even if it is just to write down there name and role in the business.

3. Get connected. Everyone always makes out that this is a hard thing to do and it certainly may seem daunting but it  isn't difficult. Without realising it you are connected to all of your parents' friends and their friends families, your friends and the people they know, as well as all the staff in your university. The majority of the connections may be useless BUT there will be some good ones in there! When I was interviewed for Trentham Monkey Forest, although I didn't gain the job, I would never had known about it if I hadn't spoken to my old year 11 head of year, whose son was the manager there. It is incredible who you can find by just asking your older friends and family questions. Likelihood is, even if you don't have something come of it straight away, you may do in the future.

4. Put yourself out there. Last summer when I went to Namibia (and started my blog, doesn't time fly) I took the risk to go out there on my own and it is to date, the best thing I have ever done. Namibia offered me so much experience and was a crash course in showing me many different elements of conservation in Africa. It also helped me to get to know the staff there at the time. Since then, one of the Researchers there, Matt, passed my details on to Paradise Park, who are partnered with the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, and hence, how I found out about them and now have a placement there from April next year. I would have never known anything about theme if I hadn't met the people I did in Africa.

5. Take a risk. Yes, this is referring to my Africa placement that I have just gained, because it certainly is a risk, and I can't wait to take it. I had scoured the internet for hours and hours finding different projects in different countries, trying to find something that fitted and would be in the guidelines of my placement (not allowed to pay the place to go bar living and food) and it felt like every place had many ups but many downs, including some requiring at least 9-12 months which was infeasible for me having already obtained my 2 placements in the UK. It was after lots of searching I came across a website with monkey positions and consequently found my placement. I very nearly didn't even apply as it is part of Durham University so I assumed that they may only take students from there, but I was wrong. Sometimes even if you think its unlikely its worth applying for the hell of it.

6. Gain as much experience as possible! Before Easter a man came in to talk to Biological Science Students about ecological surveying and I was amazed at how many students didn't attend. The talk was by Brooks Ecological and at the end of the talk we were told that if we sent in an email, they would connect us when they needed help with surveys, providing training for us and also experience. This, to me, is a "no brainer", for people who don't know what to do, or even if you do, volunteering one night a week to learn a new technique that may help you in the future is surely one of the most valuable things to do. So far I have attended a Newt Survey which was really interesting and I cannot wait to do another in the upcoming weeks.

7. Stay positive. I know its obvious, but I must have sent over 30 emails out to ecological firms and African wildlife parks last September and I don't think I heard back from any of them! I also had a really good interview but failed to get the job because there were lots of good applicants. Staying positive is often hard but if you don't believe you can obtain the placement, the company certainly aren't going to offer you one.

Lastly, for the biologists and zoologists, here are a list of websites that I used throughout my time of finding placements and some placements that I wish I had applied for...
http://www.environmentjob.co.uk/volunteering
Volunteer Dodo Page( slightly different to environmentjobs.co.uk)
Organutan long term placements
Info on how to gain careers in conservation
For work with Cheetahs
A primate project
TONS of Primate jobs, interships and research assistant opportunities
A blog just for Zoo Jobs
Conservation Jobs & Internships, mainly in America
Volunteer with Marine Life in the UK
Guides to Careers in Animal Behaviour
Jobs and research help in Animal Behaviour

A Natural First

So... Recently I have been AWFUL at blogging on here. Exams really are the bane of my life.

Lots of exciting things have been happening in the natural world and one of them was the discovery of conjoined  twin grey whales. 
The whale calves were found in jo de Liebre lagoon in the Baja California peninsula by some fishermen. The twins were believed to be alive when born but sadly died shortly after birth.  The twins are joined at the abdomen with two heads and two tails and are thought to be a result of a miscarriage. Scientists are taking samples of the animal to try and learn more. This is the first documented case since whales have been recorded since the 1800's, it really is an exciting discovery even though the whales were unable to survive joined together.

Conjoined twins happens when the single fertilised egg doesn't completely split in two leaving the eggs partially joined, the egg then develops into a conjoined embryo.

To read more and watch a video about the whale twins:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25669108

and to learn some info on Conjoined twins:
http://umm.edu/programs/conjoined-twins/facts-about-the-twins

How others see..

Ever wondered how a cat, dog or even a shark really see? Well this clever video gives you that answer.

Now that revision procrastination  is slowly kicking in, there is nothing better than endless youtube to help avoid the dreaded subject.

Exciting News

After returning from an amazing Ski trip in Les Arcs (there will be a post later) I arrived home to a letter from Chester Zoo!

Earlier this year I applied to Chester Zoo for a 3 month placement which would be part of my year in Industry. In November I had my interview and with the nervous wait of a month or so I have finally been given a placement to work with the Rhinos for a whole 3 months and I couldn't be more excited.

Why not big cats you say? Well, a 3 month placement at Chester for big cats would mean that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere near either tigers or lions as they are dangerous species and only people are there a year or longer would be able to. This meant that I wouldn't really gain as much hands on experience bar brushing and prepping food. Instead I mentioned my love for Rhinos and if I'm honest, any animal of that magnitude that lives in Africa which I love and to my amazement I was offered a place which means that I will get to work along side Rhinos but also Giraffes and other animals.

My interview went on, somehow for an hour, in which we discussed the types of questions you would expect when going to volunteer at a zoo, from the roles of a Zookeeper to why are Zoos important and much more. The whole interview experience made me feel very comfortable and welcome. Everyone who I met was so friendly that it meant I wasn't as nervous as I expected.

I still cant believe I have a placement, all it means now is that I need to find 2/3 more so bring it!!

Strictly Come DanceSport

So....
I have had the honor of taking part as a 'Celeb' representing Cheerleading in Strictly Come DanceSport to raise money for Leeds Marrow, an amazing charity that aids the recruitment of bone marrow donors as only 50% of people diagnosed who require a donor will find one and it costs £100 to add a person to the register!

I have been training hard learning the Pasodoble, a Latin dance which tells the story of bull fighting, and the girl acts as the cape, the male as the bull fighter for the past 3-4 weeks. It was such an amazing experience to get to take part in and the show was incredible! It really did feel like we were on strictly.

Everyone who took part were incredible and it was amazing to see what we had all managed to achieve in under 4 weeks!! Some of the judges were ridiculously harsh which really was like strictly but over all a fun filled night.

My performance was 9th out of the 10 competitors and it definitely felt like a nervous wait. We finally went onto the floor and all I kept thinking was that I need to be angry!! I believe that I may have done a good job to. After badly injuring my back last week I was really nervous about injuring it more but somethings are worth the risk and the dance with all the lifts certainly was plus my medication certainly took the edge of any pain!

The dance went AMAZINGLY and we got scored two 9s and two 10s!!! I  really couldn't believe it, and it was such a proud moment when all the hard work at training and going over or the silly details like which direction a foot should face meant something. We then had the nervous waiting for the spectators votes to be counted.
The results were in and Jordan and I had won! I really couldn't believe it as everyone was so good! Charlotte Warner, LUU Welfare Officer came second, her performance was truly amazing and I need her to teach me to shimmy (its her secret skill). Its been such a brilliant thing to do and as I said to some it up 'Different'. Doing something different than what you would normally can be the most rewarding thing possible and taking part in LUU's Strictly really was.
Everyone who performed and took part were winners really though as we all got to help raise money to an important cause, after all it is Christmas and whats Christmas unless you can do good  deeds for others!!

To see the show the links below..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxx4WnHk3tQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUXiQ_pewQZq7pwV-dsw-4SQ


So... Keep Dancing, Smiling and a Very Merry Christmas to everyone.

Ross Piper Talk

Last Wednesday Leeds University were lucky enough to have zoologist Ross Piper come into talk to us all about his trip to Burma which has been shown on BBC 2. The show is all about trying to find as many species as possible in the short time they were there so that they could show the Burmese Government that the land really does need protection.

Ross's talk told us all about the animals that were not shown in the series especially the wide variety of insects there. He went on to tell us how although the show makes out that the land is untouched, when he was there many of the pieces of land which were meant to be protected had already had many roads cut into to aid with deforestation of the natural habitats. Learning about a place I had never heard anything about was truly fascinating.

We got to see many brilliant camera trap photos and pictures. It really reminded me why I wanted to be a Zoologist and help animals in the first place! We got to talk about what people want to watch tv and that its a shame that one person gets to decide what everyone in the country watches.

He then gave us a small career talk. He spoke about how he did a phD, then went to do extras and then decided that he has done enough academic studies so went on to do a normal job so he had time to write his books. Now he has writen 12 books. His time is taken us doing ecological surveys, writes his books, completed the bbcs burma program and doing publicity work for his book.

It was great to find out about another Zoologists life style and what they became and how they got there.

If I got to to travel to Burma like Ross did, I would be the happiest person in the world!
As Ross says, you make your own luck and you only need to have one lucky break!

The Oldest Big Cat

P.blytheae really was beautiful

So, as I'm a huge big cat person, (little ones are nice too) I couldn't not cover the story that the oldest fossil to date of a big cat, named Panthera blytheae, has been found in the Himalayas, Tibet, of all places.
The fossil discovery changes the belief of where cats originated from,  which was thought to have been Africa but the new finding suggests that they spread from Asia instead. The fossils  found are believed to be part of a 'sister' group to the snow leopards seen today but a little smaller with some facial features differing in size.
The subfamily group Pantherinae consists of Lions, Jaguars, Tigers, Leopards including snow and clouded leopards and the findings from the fossils discovered that the subfamily diverged from Felinae earlier than expected, around 6.37 million years ago!
The fossils were found in 2010 and there was thought to be  3 individuals present,  all of different ages.

The fact that we now have a deeper understanding of the origin of big cats is exciting but if the hypothesis that they originated in Asia is true  then it seems a sad state of affairs that the place the animals developed into such beautiful, majestic and powerful creatures is the place that is likely to drive them to extinction due to the demands for their skin, bone and livelihood.

To read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24913291
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1774/20132686 - Scientific Paper

Lion Bones Are Not For Sale

I have read many a story about how, now, due to tigers being so far and few between that the East Asian trade, especially of course China have turned towards Lions!
In the past year the sale of Lion bones have rocketed. Now private breeders of Lions who not only sell poor Lions for hunting where they release the animals 3 days before and then track the poor creature and kill it and now selling the bones of the animals after it has been killed for up to $5000. This trade has reached a level unacceptable. There is around 5000 captive lions along with the 2000 that live in national parks in South Africa. This means Lions are a much easier target than Tigers.
South Africa are yet to place a ban on Lion bones trade which is crucial for them to be able to survive. Rhino trade has already caused the species to become extinct in many areas.
Although educating China that there pointless medicines have no healing effect but are just destroying the nature around us is the most important thing its crutial that South Africa stop the sale of Lions!
No money is worth a species so beautiful and majestic. Not one penny!!

To read more Click the links below:
http://forcechange.com/64275/protest-the-use-of-lion-bones-in-chinese-medicine/
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/boost-for-war-on-lion-bone-trade-1.1601337#.Ungf-_m-068
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/16/south-africa-lion-bones-trade

There's more Dolphins

So last week came the very excited news that a new species of dolphin has been discovered of the coast of Australia. Although the species is yet to be named it has been a decade long DNA and data analysis task for scientists to reach the point where they have finally concluded that there is not just 2 species of humpback dolphin but in fact 4 or possibly more. This idea is know as splitting where the new species have come from the two original species but are now to different to be placed together.
Over 200 tissue samples were analysed before the conclusion could be drawn but it now means that conservationists will be able to study the animals behavioural and social groups with greater knowledge and gain an understanding of whether in fact there are any differences between the individual humpback dolphin species.

The paper about the findings was published in Molecular Ecology
and if you wish to just do a little more reading follow the links below

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10417002/New-species-of-humpback-dolphin-discovered-in-Australia.html
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/new-species-humpback-dolphin-discovered
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14921665