Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
A herpetologist is a person who works with and studies reptiles, and at 17 years old, Rachael Walton had this career firmly set as her dream job. Shortly after she was hired in the Zoo’s Education Department, she boldly walked into the Reptile Curator’s office at the San Diego Zoo and introduced herself saying “You have my dream job. One day I will have your job, I just don’t know how yet”. The curator sat Ms. Walton down and gave her advice on how to pursue her dream. Following the advice of her mentors, Ms. Walton began working internships at different museums around San Diego, getting hands on experience, and completing her degree in Biology, Ms. Walton found herself well on her way to becoming a reptile keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Ms. Walton’s job as a reptile keeper involves many different tasks. For the reptile team, keepers are assigned specific areas to care for throughout Reptile Mesa. Ms. Walton showed us her corridor in which she gets to work with tortoises, snakes and iguanas. Ms. Walton’s work involves feeding, cleaning, encouraging breeding, monitoring incubating eggs, and daily observations of the animals in her care.
Working as a herpetologist gives Ms. Walton the amazing opportunity to save species from extinction. In addition to the Zoo’s participation in a Fijian iguana Species Survival Plan, one way she does this is through a head start program. A huge struggle endangered species face in the wild is predators eating their young before they mature, thus hindering the species’ ability to repopulate. Ms. Walton helps alleviate these pressures by breeding Fijian iguanas in managed care and raising the hatchlings until they are big enough to be released into the wild. By doing this, it ensures the baby iguanas will not be easily preyed upon like they would be in the wild safeguarding their survival to adulthood.
In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Ms. Walton has had the opportunity to travel abroad as a representative for the Zoo. More specifically, Ms. Walton travelled to Madagascar to aid in the Zoo’s tortoise conservation efforts. Recently, a house in Madagascar was discovered housing thousands of endangered tortoise species. Unfortunately, these radiated tortoise were most likely being prepared for the black market for bush meat or the illegal pet trade. Working closely with several organizations such as the Turtle Conservancy and the Turtle Survival Alliance allowed Ms. Walton to take a part in finding a safe place for these very endangered tortoises. The Zoo, with Ms. Walton leading the effort, was allowed to take in some of these radiated tortoises and is currently breeding them.
Along with all of these jobs, Ms. Walton participates in educating the public about reptiles. Her love for all things scaly was evident as she held and interacted with many reptiles during InternQuest’s visit in the reptile house. One of her favorite reptiles she uses for educational purposes is the caiman lizard. Ms. Walton’s hope is that when people see her handling a creature like the caiman lizard they will become enamored with reptiles, just as much as she.
If you share Ms. Walton’s passion for reptiles, I will give you the same advice she gave me: get a college degree, do internships, gather as much real world and hands on experience as possible with reptiles, and make connections. On the same note, Ms. Walton’s drive for growth is a very beneficial trait which will surely aid with your future career goals in any profession. Not only is Ms. Walton constantly seeking more knowledge about reptiles everyday, she also told us that she is not settling for Senior Keeper and is still working towards her dream job as a Reptile Curator. I encourage anyone who is considering a career in herpetology to follow in Ms. Walton’s footsteps by working hard and always seeking opportunities for growth.
Noah, Career Team
Week Three, Fall Session 2018
