Monday, November 9, 2009

2009 Internship Photo Contest: And The Winner Is...



Kellie Adkins

Kellie Adkins ‘13, a Captive Wildlife Care & Education Major at Unity College, is working with a halter trained Dromedary camel named Johnny during her summer internship at Black Pine Animal Park, in Albion, Indiana. Kellie has been a volunteer at BPAP for three years. It’s a non-profit organization that exists to give displaced, abused, and retired animals a home. A majority of the animals have come from private homes, where people thought they could keep them as pets. “Our mission at the park is to not only provide a safe refuge for these animals, but to educate the public on responsible pet ownership and reinforce the ideal that wild animals are not pets”, said Adkins.
BPAP is home to over 70 big and small cats, bears, primates, birds, reptiles and other former pets and retired performers. “During my internship, I did basic husbandry for small cats, assisted with large cats, primates, reptiles, hoof-stock, and birds. I also led tours and provided animal enrichment” added Adkins.
“My project was to teach Johnny how to walk on lead and follow basic commands. The park is my heart and I look forward to returning during breaks”.

2009 Internship Photo Finalists

Thanks to all students who submitted their 2009 internship photos. This year's photo contest was difficult to judge, being that we had a wide variety of dynamic photos from across the world. We would like to highlight the included photos, as they made it into the finalist pool. All entered photos will also be posted later this week. A second contest will be held next week to judge photos submitted of just landscapes and animals.
Highlighted here are photos from Matty Zane, Deb King, Andy Gagnon, and Adam Douin.