Before my time at Wild Instincts I was unsure where my heart would settle in the animal care world, however, now I am certain it is alongside wildlife. This path is not for everyone; it demands the most devoted individuals whom are ready to give all of themselves to the animals they care for. Wildlife rehabilitation restores to nature what humans have taken. We as rehabilitators are forced to see the ugliest parts of the human race because of this. For those of you who believe you are ready pursue this internship position, I ask the following from you. 1. You admit to mistakes when they are made, lives depend on it. 2. You care more about these animals than you have ever cared about anything else in your lives, this simply cannot be a hobby. 3. You are ready to put in long days that sometimes end with tears and lasting grief. 4. You understand that this job comes with cleaning, preparing diets, and construction. These aspects of animals care are just as important as hands on medical attention. 5. You wake up every morning with the intention to do better than you had done the day before. My time at Wild Instincts had taught me so much about myself; I find more value in my abilities than I ever have before. 
With heartbreak there is also reward, to finally release the animal you have been caring for after weeks is one of the most beautiful events to take part in. It is the ultimate reward to return to nature an animal that has an inherent right to the life they were given there. I hope in my writing you found parts that resonate with you and lead you to apply. If honored the position you will get to work alongside individuals whom paved the way for ethical rehabilitation and continue to do so. 

I believe Wild Instincts is the place to have your first internship or to continue your learning of wild rehabilitation. Mark and Sharon are some of the finest rehabbers/natural resource educators around. Be prepared for long days and nights, but to feel the reward of doing the work you are doing. My internship changed my life and my thought of the career field and I cannot imagine not continuing this path. Yes there are days where you are pushed to your limits, but you have to look at the bigger picture of what this is all about and to know you are making a difference and that all that work you are doing will come when you see those patients released into their habitat. You become their mother in a sense and you have to do everything correctly and not cut corners because that is endangering the wildlife in your care. Cleaning all cages properly and putting the necessary scrutiny of detail in all the tasks at hand. You need to be willing to work and trust me it is worth it! Mark and Sharon really care about what you are learning, how you are learning and why you are doing certain things. You will make mistakes and trust me they happen and your job is to learn quickly the correct way to do the responsibilities of wildlife rehab. You not only learn wildlife rehab but all the elements of the natural resource field from plant id, birdcalls and the natural history of the animals in your care. All these come in handy to wildlife rehab and it is so interesting to learn all the aspects and come out a more rounded individual in this field. I was lucky enough to be awarded my internship here and am so thankful that I live near the area and have been able to continue to help and further my learning because one summer is not enough to learn it all in this field. Know you will be challenged during your internship and will be angry, sad, happy and in-between all in one day, but trust me this experience is a once in a life time opportunity and be proud if they award you this internship.

I view my summer at Wild Instincts as a journey. On this Journey I learned about animals, people, and myself more than I have from any other professional opportunity. During the summer of 2017 I assisted Mark and Sharon in caring for orphaned, injured, and displaced wildlife patients. The experience is one I will never forget. If you plan to take your own journey at Wild Instincts, there are some aspects of the job you must accept. At Wild Instincts, I felt I was in a sea of life and death. There were incredible uplifting moments. I watched baby squirrels open their eyes for the first time, witnessed animals on the brink of death make miraculous recoveries, held an eagle before watching it fly into the horizon, and so much more. On those same days, I saw many animals who were in pain and animals who passed away. Sometimes these moments, good or bad, hit me unexpectedly. There are some challenging moments you will come across working in wildlife rehabilitation. The hardest part for me was making mistakes that directly affected the wellbeing of an animal. Mark and Sharon are generous enough to give interns the experience they need to become wildlife professionals even if it means those interns will make mistakes. Be honest. Reflect. Improve. Others will make mistakes as well. Forgive yourself and those around you and always give it your all. At the end of my summer internship at Wild Instincts, I felt I had come out a stronger person. It was certainly the most humbling job I have ever had in my life and by far the most rewarding. I will remember my experiences at Wild Instincts for the rest of my life.  

 My summer at Wild Instincts was a life changing experience. I truly felt fulfillment during my time at Instincts. When you feel that, you desire to have it back. I know I will not feel that level of happiness unless I pursue a career in rehabilitation. Before I arrived at the facility, I had never held a needle let alone injected something with one. I was not confident if I was making a good choice traveling 800 miles from home to commit to an internship that I was nervous about. I did not know where my limitations where with the medical aspects of animal care and my internship clarified all of that for me. Mark and Sharon were fantastic teachers and were always willing to clear up any confusion I had. They were always patient and provided me with a very comfortable learning environment. Some things I think are important to emphasize: Mark and Sharon will tell you in your interview that the internship requires a lot of long hours (some days 7:30a.m.-10:00p.m.) and that a lot of your day is spent washing dishes and cleaning around the facility. They mean it! I came into this internship with zoo experience. Wildlife rehabilitation is almost the opposite of that. You will not to get to bond or spend long amounts of time with any of the animals. Seeing the animals that you worked so hard to care for be released back into the wild where they belong makes it all worth it. The best advice I can give you is to be true to yourself when considering this position. If you think working long hours, seeing the best and the worst of animals’ lives, and being on your feet all day is something that you can handle, then this would be great for you. It does not benefit yourself, the animals, or Wild Instincts to have interns that aren’t truly invested. If you think this might be a good fit for you be aware wildlife rehabilitation is an intense field. Every day is different Some days seem to go smoothly and other days it seems like all the patients are admitted in critical condition and will require intense care. There is one theme through everyday that I loved about the internship. Everyday will provide you with an opportunity to learn something new. During my time there I felt like my brain was a sponge absorbing so much valuable information. At the beginning I was a bit overwhelmed with all the information flooding my ears every day, but eventually it all clicks, and I realized how blessed I was to be learning how to become a successful rehabber. This was all because of the affective teaching methods of the internship. At Wild Instincts your internship tends to have as much value as you aspire it to. If you ask questions, participate in procedures, and truly apply yourself then I can’t imagine there is a better facility to learn the techniques of wildlife rehabilitation than Wild Instincts.

Wildlife rehabilitation is difficult work. It drains you both physically and mentally but is extremely rewarding; for the animals and yourself. I had no real animal experience before this internship. My experience was limited to research and office work at a veterinary hospital but nothing in my past had prepared me for this summer but rest assured I got through it with the help of Sharon, Mark and the five other interns. During my time at Wild Instincts, I washed mountains of dishes, swept and mopped dozens of times, and prepared food at least four times a day, and scooped so much poop. I learned how to feed squirrels, perform a subcutaneous injection on a fawn, tube feed an eagle, and bottle feed bobcat kittens. The other interns and I released dozens of animals back into the wild where they belong after weeks of work. Lastly, I created lifelong memories. I kayaked for the first time, drove a tractor for the first time, saw a shooting star for the first time, released foxes and saw Lake Superior of the first time. There are so many opportunities for first times that every day will hold something new and rewarding. After 3 months, I definitely grew as a person. I had to work independently, ask for help and admit mistakes. My interest in this field grew stronger after this summer and I encourage you to apply to this internship if you are interested in the animal care field (veterinary work/zookeeping etc.) and gain hands on experience working with wildlife native to Wisconsin.

I started at Wild Instincts just two days after graduating college, so eager to start the next chapter of my life. Before I started I didn't really have a viewpoint of wildlife rehabilitation; I wasn't sure exactly what it was, what it would entail, and if I would even like it. I had mixed emotions about moving states and starting something completely different with 5 other strangers. But with all those insecurities, I packed up and moved 5 hours from home. Over the 6 month internship there were really high-highs, and really low-lows. Wildlife rehab is a rollercoaster of emotions you never thought you had. It was grueling but so rewarding. You'll get to experience things like holding eagles and hawks to pinky mice and squirrels. You'll get to see amazing things like baby birds hatching, fixing broken bones, and saving emaciated animals. But you’re also surrounded by horrible things like death, euthanasia, and preventable, human-caused disasters. Wildlife rehab is the saddest, but happiest career someone could have. You will laugh, cry, be upset, excited, disgusted and happy - all in one day. After coming into this internship thinking I wouldn’t like it, I ended up falling in love with this career. The feeling of fulfillment you get knowing you’re benefiting wildlife is irreplaceable. I am able to take my knowledge I learned here and apply it to my future rehab career in MN. The amount of information you’ll take in at Wild Instincts is irreplaceable. If you are considering taking this internship my advice would be: go into this experience with an open mind. Be ready to soak up every ounce of information you can and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Don’t be afraid of criticism. Ask A LOT of questions. Jump into every learning experience possible. And most of all, have the best attitude you can. In an environment with the potential for lots of negative outcomes, it is so important to keep your positive mind. Don’t go into this experience with any expectations, because it’s nothing you think it is. This job will work you into the ground, but everyday is worth it knowing you’re doing something amazing for our wildlife. .