Research

Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary​

Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary is located in Northern Thailand, about 4-5 hours outside of Chiang Mai. While interning, I lived in a small, remote village called Ban Naklang and did my best to fully immerse myself in a new culture: by practicing the language, participating in communal events, and living in the home of an amazing and friendly family. During my 2 months there, I was part of a research team that recorded and analyzed data on behavior, association, and foraging patterns of the 5 resident elephants that live in the sanctuary. I was also able to learn how to record data from camera traps. I learned that, though it was daunting at first, I am unafraid of extremely remote fieldwork and every day I fell a little more in love with such a different and wonderful way of life.

Monterey Bay Whale Watch

Monterey Bay, off the coast of California, gave me a wonderful first taste of field research. For 3 months I worked on a boat several miles off the coast and gathered data on a wide range of marine mammals, from sea lions to sea otters to whales and dolphins. Most of my data showed patterns of humpback whales, as I was there for the height of humpback season. This internship also gave me an incredible opportunity to practice photographing fast-moving wildlife and many of my images were used to ID unknown whales.