Zoologist
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One can work as a research zoologist, conducting experiments on specific animals. As a zoologist one can work in Zoos, Wildlife services, Botanical Gardens, Conservation organizations, National parks, Nature reserves, Universities, laboratories, animal Behaviorists and Rehabilitators etc. Other opportunities include government, environmental consulting firms and conservation groups. Salary will vary depending on place of work.Fresher zoologist would get initial salary between Rs 15,000/- to Rs 30,000/-.
Famous Personalities
There are many people who have at least minimally been involved in wildlife studies or zoology, whose names will no doubt be familiar.
Jeff Corwin, a herpetologist who has a successful show on the Animal Planet Network.
Jane Goodall, who has devoted her life to the study of chimpanzees.
The dearly beloved and deceased Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin.
Names of people who have made contributions from the past include Aristotle, Sir Charles Darwin, Carolus Linnaeus, and Georges Cuvier, the founder of comparative anatomy.
Dr. Sálim Ali (1896 - 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist who is known as the "Birdman of India". Ali was a pioneer and was arguablly the 1st Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys in India. His popular books have also contributed enormously to the development of professional and amateur ornithology in India.
Dr. Biswamoy Biswas (1923-1994) was an Indian ornithologist and its foremost taxonomist. Born in Calcutta, Biswas was a brilliant student and gold medallist at his graduation. In 1947, he was awarded a three-year fellowship which enabled him to study at the British Museum, at the Berlin Zoological Museum under Erwin Stresemann, and also at the American Museum of Natural History under Ernst Mayr.
A day in life
A Day In The Life of Jane Goodall
In Gombe, I get up at 6:45 am or an hour earlier if I'm going to un-nest the chimps. Breakfast is usually a piece of bread and a cup of coffee. From my house on the beach I can get to the chimps wherever they are. Un-nesting them means that you clamber to where you left them the night before, sit beneath the nest and wait for movement. They'll get up slowly one after the other, sit for a while, then wander off and start to feed.
My favorite day is spent following a mother and her family until evening. The most wonderful thing about fieldwork, whether with chimps, baboons or any other wildlife, is waking up and asking yourself, "What am I going to see today?" I don't bother with lunch when I'm out. Some of the wild fruit chimps eat are quite tasty when ripe, though most are horribly astringent. There isn't really anything that I've ever craved when living in the bush. I've been lucky in that it's very easy for me to adjust. My one luxury is music: Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Sibelius, and so on.
It can be exhausting climbing high, far and fast. Around 3 pm you feel very weary because of spending a lot of the day on your tummy, crawling, with vines catching your hair. Living under the skies, the forest is for me a temple, a cathedral made of tree canopies and dancing light, especially when it's raining and quiet. That's heaven on earth for me. I can't imagine going through life without being tuned into the mystical side of nature. People are too busy nowadays.
At dusk, the chimps nest. It's lovely in the sunset after a hot day. The birds sing, it's quiet. The mother will play with her babies, they'll play up in the branches and come to her arms when it gets dark. When they've nested, I'll pick my way home. The Gombe evening is magical. It's dark by 7:30 pm and I'll jump into Lake Tanganyika. The clear, fresh water makes all my bruises, aches and tiredness go away. I'll cook something like beans, onions and tomatoes over an open fire. Daytime cooking at Gombe requires House Rule Number One, which is to keep the door shut because the baboons push past you to get to the food. Sometimes in the evening we'll eat under the stars. In the rainy season we'll sit on the overgrown verandah. It's paradise.
Source: www.janegoodall.org
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