Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society  

My internship at MARS…an experience I will never forget

When I first received an email from Maj asking if I was interested in doing an internship at MARS I was taken by complete surprise. I had originally applied for an internship position at Island Wildlife Natural Care Center and when I found out that I did not get the internship I never really pursed the idea any further. That however quickly changed when Maj contacted me.

The first thing that I did was go to MARS’s website, and I was excited about what I saw. The chance to work with wildlife is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was always something that I wanted to do. It’s hard to express exactly what you feel when you are working with wild animals, at least for myself it is. All I can say is that I always had a feeling of completeness when I was at MARS and knowing that you are making some kind of a difference makes you feel pretty good about what you are doing too.

Venturing out on my own and moving to some unknown territory by myself is not something that I usually do, but I decided to take a chance. As it turned out it was probably the best decision that I have ever made. I didn’t know what to expect and what exactly I would do…I soon learned that I would do everything from scrapping laundry to rescuing injured animals.

The month that I spent at MARS seemed to go by so fast, I’m sure the wonderful company (and that doesn’t refer to just the birds) had something to do with it. From the beginning I was made to feel at home and very welcome, and even though I was eased slowly in to the routine I was put to work right away.

Since I wasn’t at MARS during the busy "baby birdie season" I had a little (or a lot) more time to spend on each case. I felt very fortunate to be able to work so closely with Maj, the other volunteers and the Veterinarians throughout the Comox Valley. I found it quite remarkable how many hours some of the vets would put into some of the cases. To be given the opportunity to watch a surgery take place on a Western Screech Owl just astounded me.

I was also very happy to use and share some of my own skills over the month. I perfected doing fecal smears (thanks to the pigeons), which lead to the protocol of dosing birds with Ivermectin when they first come in. However gross it may have been it was very important to the well being of all the birds at MARS and I was more than happy to do it.

It’s hard to say if I would change anything or even add anything to an internships experience at MARS. I think that it would be interesting if there were more than one intern at a time, especially during the busier seasons. This would lessen the amount of work that one intern would have to do and ultimately give them more opportunities to spend more time on each case or at least get a chance to be more involved in things like vet visits or looking for the perfect release site. I was fortunate to be able to do all that and more, and I believe it just made my experience even more unforgettable.

Overall I think that the most important thing is to be involved in all aspects of the rehabilitation process. Also, I believe that having some sort of experience (however not necessary) whether in rehabilitation or involvement with a Veterinary clinic would assist any future interns. I feel very strongly that my biological background (knowledge of bird anatomy, physiology, etc.) and experience working at a Vet clinic made a significant difference in my abilities as a wildlife rehabilitation intern.

I also believe that it is very crucial to stress from the start of an internship the importance of animal behavior and communicating that with everyone involved no matter how insignificant or significant the behavior may seem. Understanding each individual case and observing them closely is key to the animal’s success. Although not all outcomes were positive, they were all great learning experiences for everyone, especially when they teach you not to use "tunnel vision" when it comes to an animal’s injury.

I thank you Maj for giving me the opportunity to work so closely with the animals. Thank you for trusting my abilities and pushing me to do things that I never thought that I would be able to do. Learning how to tube feed birds and seals and chasing a Canada goose across a fairway is something I will never forget and I have you to thank for that.

Overall I think that if someone wants to be an intern at a wildlife rehabilitation center they need to not only love animals, they also need to be dedicated, willing to work long hard hours (missing the occasional meal) and willing to put themselves out there and not be afraid…just go for it!

Amy Doylend

(September 2002 MARS intern)