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IBRRC international intern: Gary Ward
Gary Ward, 26, from
New Plymouth, New Zealand has had a passion for animals his
entire life. As a child he cared for domestic animals and
eventually became interested in raising and breeding exotic
birds such as pheasants, parrots and waterfowl.
Gary left school early to explore his opportunities
and joined the New Zealand Conservation Corps, an organization
that introduces young people to environmental work. He worked
three years at Brooklands VIP Pet Products, one of New Zealand's
largest wholesale pet accessory distributors, where he bred
tropical fish before going on to the Brooklands Zoo, where
he worked for three and a half years caring for many species
of animals.
Here he advanced his knowledge of the care and
breeding of various species of parrots and pheasants and was
involved in walk-through aviaries and other environmentally
specialized animal enclosures.
It was during his tenure at the zoo that Gary
decided to make a career in captive animal breeding and found
complete job satisfaction in this line of work. This is also
where he received his first introduction to wildlife rehabilitation.
Gary eventually went on to work for Kelly Tarlton's
Underwater World and Antarctic Encounter in Auckland where
he cared for King and Gentoo Penguins.
In June 2000, he learned that volunteers were
needed to help care for 20,000 penguins rescued from the MV
Treasure oil spill in South Africa. With borrowed money, Gary
took off for Cape Town, not knowing what awaited him, but
expecting to return in three weeks; however, three weeks turned
into seven months. There, Gary met the IBRRC team and director,
Jay Holcomb, and worked with the local African National Foundation
for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob).
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Intern Gary Ward of New Zealand
with baby stilt. (IBRRC photo)
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When the crisis was finally over, Gary spent
a month working at Wildcare in Pretoria, South Africa,
“I loved working with the large mammals, but my
first love has always been birds.”
As fate would have it, Jay returned to South
Africa to attend an oil spill conference later that
year, and met up with Gary once again. “Jay told
me the new center in Northern California was near completion
and asked me if I would like to be the first intern.
I took the very last of my money, bought a ticket to
San Francisco and began my year long internship. In
my first three months at IBRRC, I've learned more then
I did in seven years at other facilities.”
Gary's lifelong love for animals has led
him to a job that he says doesn't even seem like work.
“Even after a very long day, or several in a row,
I may be tired, but I love helping the birds so much
that it doesn't seem like work. I guess that's what
happens when you are totally passionate about what you
do.”
Also see:
Jeremy Simar's
intern profile
Back to
intern spotlight
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