I’m excited to welcome our 4th and final winter giant panda intern, Ariana McShayne-Ananda.  I leave in one week for China to prepare for our research season! Note: Ari has a degree in Wildlife Conservation and Photography so photo requests should start rolling in with this post 😉
Ari posing next to a three-toed sloth in Costa Rica
“Hello fellow PDXWildlife followers! My name is Ida Ayu Ariana Helena McShayne-Ananda, but to save you from choking on trying to pronounce that, you can call me Ari! I grew up in the tiny rural dairy town/Victorian village of Ferndale in Humboldt County, California. Prior to this, I had spent my toddler years living in Bali, Indonesia where my father’s side residesFrom a young age I was exposed to many different cultures, climates, and environments, and quickly found that I felt most at home when I was out in nature. My fondness for nature slowly evolved from a love for animals and the environment into a passion for conservation and research.
In June I graduated from UC San Diego, where I created my own major-Wildlife Conservation and Photography- through an individualized major program. Which was awesome in theory…but I certainly discovered many setbacks to majoring in a curriculum that did not exist! To escape the confines that a non-existent major paired with a theory-based schooling system, I sought to find experiences outside of the classroom that would help me find my path in wildlife biology. My first taste of field research was in 2013 at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, where I participated in the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program studying Carollia fruit bats. I tend to fall in love with every animal I see, so from my newfound love for bats, I was connected to a volunteer opportunity for two weeks in Baja Mexico assisting a researcher from UC Santa Cruz, and later participated in an REU program in New Mexico the following summer, conducting research on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge learning acoustic techniques for sampling bat diversity.
Ari handling a bat performing research in Costa Rica
Finally deciding that I should widen my breadth of species to work with (don’t worry I’m still crazy about bats!), I volunteered with the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research’s ground squirrel relocation project. After pretending to graduate in 2014, I decided to take a super-senior year and fulfill my long-time dream of studying abroad. I spent the rest of my time as an undergraduate in Tanzania with the School for International Training (SIT) Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology program, where tent-camping and homestays made up the bulk of my 4 month stay.
Tents on the Serengeti
And, as you may have guessed, I immediately fell in love with Africa and all of its wildlife too (sleeping under the stars, waking up to elephants, living in a Maasai boma being eaten alive by bedbugs in the middle of the desert—it can do that to you. Or…maybe that’s just me). Immediately following my study abroad program I traveled to South Africa to volunteer at Gitta-Martula, a small wildlife rehabilitation center in order to gain hands-on experience working with captive, soon-to-be-released wildlife.
Ari with a Maasai family in Tanzania
These experiences have fueled my passion for animal behavior and conservation, and solidified my academic goals for the future. After taking a few years off (I am currently in the beginning of this phase) I will go back to graduate school to attain a PhD in wildlife conservation biology—if not only to finally have a legitimate degree, but also because I LOVE learning! Why the gap years? In order to hone in on exactly what I want to do in my future (researcher, zookeeper, NGO, Nat Geo photographer, travel blogger, etc), I am going to continue gaining more experience. Which is exactly why I am SO excited to gain a glimpse into the realm of panda breeding research and delve into the new challenge of China. I am especially excited to work with people who are just as passionate about wildlife conservation and research as I am!
Feeding a caracal kitten in South Africa
Science aside, I also love photography, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, reading a good book, cooking and eating (I’ll be honest I prefer the latter), and adventuring—whether that be an adventure to China or an adventure in my horrendously messy closet, I love experiences! So thank you PDXWildlife, for this incredible new experience on the very near horizon!!”
Now you’ve all officially been introduced to our winter giant panda interns. Â I hope you’re as excited as we are to have them start working (and more importantly Facebooking and Instagramming! – and yes those are actual verbs I checked)
-Meg