 What was your path to your passion?
I'm Dr. Lucy Spelman and my job is to be the regional veterinarian manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Project, which is an African-based nonprofit. We provide medical care for the wild mountain gorillas of Rwanda and Uganda. They also work with another species of gorilla, called the Grauer gorilla, which is also endangered and found only in the Congo. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be, not just a vet, but a wild animal vet, and I went through my schooling with that in mind. If you want to be a wildlife veterinarian, you begin by working with dogs, cats, horses, cows, maybe a little poultry, or some farmed catfish. You then you have the basis for which to do wildlife medicine. So I went to veterinarian school, and I practiced in private practice with dogs and cats and then with some parrots and iguanas. And then I worked in a zoo and I did a three-year postdoctoral training program. I worked in a zoo again and became a zoo director, and then I worked in private practice again. Now, for the last three years, I've been a wildlife vet here in Africa.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Well, a lot of people ask me, what's the coolest thing about your job?, and I guess the instant answer is that I get to be close to creatures. Once you are near animals — up close, looking at them — whether it's a tiger or a gorilla or even a dog, you start to appreciate how individual they are. I mean, every animal has an individual personality and every species has its own characteristics that allow it to fit into its ecological niche. So, the uniqueness of the species and the uniqueness of the animal is what's really cool, because I get to experience that. And, again, just like it can be 10 years between the same kind of case in one animal, it can be 10 years between seeing a patient that's the same species when you work in the field I work in. So, it's that closeness, that appreciation of what's unique and being able to experience that firsthand. That's very cool.
Why are you passionate about what you do?
I love what I do — I think there are three reasons. One, I grew up in a rural part of Connecticut and I spent my free time in the woods, in the fields and with my family's menagerie of creatures, so I think I'm wired to get enjoyment out of spending time in nature and with creatures. And secondly, because I love working with wild animals and being out of doors, I feel a sense of responsibility and I want to help. And when you have veterinarian skills, you can help. You can help save the life of an animal. I believe that the health of everything is connected, so if one of my patients gets better, I feel as though I’ve helped a whole ecosystem. And I think the third reason I'm passionate about my work is — I have sort of a motto — it's never the same thing twice or, you could say, it's anything but routine. This is a profession, especially when you work with non-domestic species, where it could be 10 years before you see the same case, the same problem, in the same species. So, it's a big challenge, and it's never boring, and yet it also takes a certain amount of flexibility. You have to keep learning, and that's also a big motivating fact for me. I've been doing this work now for 20 years, and I learn something new every day, if not from my patients than from the people that I work with. It's very, very rewarding to work in a team, and to take care of animals in nature requires teamwork.
What are the things about your work that aren't so cool?
It's funny, people think, well, you're a veterinarian so you must work with animals all the time, but actually the key to being a good animal doctor is to listen to the animal's caretakers — whether that's the owner or the ranger or the zookeeper. When you really do a proper job on those cases, you're not only listening to those who take care of the animal and making your own plan, but then you need to write it all down. And so, there's a lot of paperwork involved in veterinarian medicine. There's a lot of record writing and a lot of note taking and important communication that in and of itself I don't ever find that boring — time flies — but it is routine work. Again, most people think, oh, you must be always doing something different. But just like everybody, I have long days in the office, days on the telephone, and lots of notes and records to write as well as meetings to attend. So there's an administrative side to the work and it does get less interesting — let's put it that way — than having your binoculars on the gorilla or your hands on the gorilla, but it's also equally necessary.
Any advice?
I'm very fortunate, because I do live my passion. I have a job that also gives me a way to enjoy life, so I'm very, very lucky that way. And I think I have this job and this work skill because I wanted to do this from when I was very young and nobody — not my parents or my family, friends or mentors — ever told me I couldn't do it. So I think that's my advice. If you see what you want to do or have an idea and you're not sure, then try and I think you'll find you'll encounter people who will want to support you in your passion. I guess the related piece of advice is don't worry that there's one way to reach that job, that passion, that you want to do. There's no one path, and that's especially true in my profession, because you can talk to 20 veterinarians who work with wild animals, and the way they got to their jobs would not have been the same path. So, don't let anyone tell you no and don't worry that there's one set way to get to your goal. If you really want to do it, then you will.
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