Sunny day in London

Hi guys! Nice to hear from you, well few of you!
I don’t have many exciting news, apart of a new member of the family “Frida”, and the first fox cubs arrivals to the London Wildcare Trust this season.
My new daughter plus my “lovely” mortgage, ties me to London and surroundings when looking for a job, thus poor results so far. I am doing some volunteering in the LWT, although there are not many opportunities to get a paid job there because as many trust around, they don’t have a penny thanks to the global crisis! Lucky enough if there is enough money to buy the food. The rescue centre is still quiet, but expecting a busy season soon with plenty of orphans. It is not a high tech work, and it is more about welfare than conservation (don’t mention them that grey squirrels or pigeons should be in another dimension, and that a rabbit with mixomatosis should be put down.). However, I think than it could be a good a experience to be part, help and see how they manage with all these arrivals (+100 fox cubs per season, hundreds of ducklings, etc). I have also being invited (well, kind of invited myself) to carry on my research in hand-rearing common swifts in the wildlife rehabilitation centre in Barcelona this summer, and possibly doing a short stage in a rehab centre in Germany where they only recover swifts. They know that the diet they are using is not good (thanks to me! yeahh!!) but they can not afford a insect diet because the costs/people/resources. All free paid of course L, so I have to combine this with my all work as IT, and travelling now and then to see my client in Spain. However, thanks to the crisis is not looking so great and just enough to the moth bills.
Well, all seems exiting (maybe not), but yes, it is not…After the MSc, ending cleaning duck shit (for now) is not so great!!! But let’s see how everything goes, and if the short term London does not give me any opportunity I may do a move (leaving partner, Frida and Mina for a while).

By the way, some pictures of Frida in my partner’s space in flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/mecanoscrit ....

Also, he is running the marathon http://www.justgiving.com/mariomontero ... human causes although not bad!

See you around.

PS: Andres is in the Coto de Doñana National Park doing work with amphibians. He is a lucky one, as that Park is just amazing. One of the remaining Iberian Lynx populations is in there.

Sitting in a Hong Kong office

Hi Guys! Good to hear from Liz, good luck with your tv stuff, sounds interesting!

We're still here in Hong Kong, working away on animal welfare issues and trying to steer as clear as we can from the air pollution and the concrete that seems to dominate most of the time. Will let you know if anything changes.

Take care guys,

Mark & Mel XX

Hi Guys,

Sitting in ZSL Conservation Programmes and thought I'd say hello (although I am seriously suspecting that noone is looking at this very much these days, considering the date of the last post..) I am volunteering two days a week as CP, working on Nepal snow leopard and Sundarbans tiger conservation stuff - big cat happiness!! Other than that I am supposed to be starting a new BBC science show next month, fingers crossed. A good few of us are in the field at the moment and I am very jealous! Anyway, miss you all, hope everything is going well and write soon!

Liz xxx

Dr Death calling again

Hi dear people!

Have killed another seal- more and more gray hair appearing..Tagging project falling appart and stuck here at art least another month. The joys of working with wildlife- charmingly unpredictable creatures who also behave particularly well at the mo..maybe the word has spread that the Dr. Death is waiting for new victims and thus the seals stay away from the traps..Feeling just 'slightly' frustrated and pissed off!!!! But it can't continue this bad (right;) and thus hoping for better times to come..If and when get the the final two tags attached, will so reward myself with a plane ticket (hey, been in Finland for 7 weeks already!!!!Feels like bloody ages..) and think that will pay a brief visit to London (don't laugh, Mark! Visiting ok, living not;) in December. If anybody around, love to see you guys- I'm SO bored now, waiting at home for the seals to appear and surrounded by people who just don't get it why the land is once again burning under my feet..just can't help my vagabond nature;)
Hope you're all well and good luck with job hunting, keep my fingers crossed for you!!!! If any consolation, will you join you guys shortly and need to find work for at least next 6 months as well (will continue the tagging next summer if lucky). Take care, miss you all !!!:)

the lethal Nina

Hello guys,

just checking this is all working.

I'm just about to set off to the RSPCA for another shift of joy, while on the job front it's nothing but rejection so far in Belgium.

My other "project" at the moment is selling my car before I go to Dubai Falcon Hospital. Any takers ?

In Feb. 09 when I'm back from Dubai, I think we will move to Belgium no matter what. London is too expensive for normal people...

Greetings

Sophie

Great idea

Great idea Christina... I'll be checking in regularly to see what everyone's up to! Mel and I are slowly settling into life in Hong Kong, we've found a place to live, so I'll post our new contact details here once we're sorted. I'm off to China to the Black Bear sanctuary tomorrow... should be fun!
Cheers
Mark

Welcome

Hey kids.
I set up this blog as a space for the Wild Animal Health and Wild Animal Biology graduates of 2008 to keep in touch. We spent 12 crazy months together and I doubt any one of us would want to lose touch with the group. Here you will find posts and photos added by Wild Animal Alumni '08 of their post-WAH/WAB lives.
All the best to everybody!
Christina