Tents, Tortoises, and Tailgates

Field biologist sounds like a romantic job, a job people often think how lucky one must be to have. At times, it is exactly what people think: seeing amazing and remote places, holding cute and fuzzy animals, and trying to save the environment. But those moments are the rewards after hours of grueling work and surviving some of the harshest environmental conditions nature can throw at you. Some people do it their whole lives, others only a few years. I have been working as a field biologist for nearly ten years. This is my story, from face to face encounters with rattlesnakes and mountain lions in the burning deserts of the Southwest, to dealing with snow, ice, and tornadoes in the Midwest. From alligators and cottonmouths in southern swamps, to sharks, sea turtles, and beaches in the Caribbean, and from tents and cots, to hotels and luxury vacation homes. These are the stories from my travels. This is my life as a field biologist.