Anna Egerton – BSc Applied Terrestrial and Marine Ecology – with placement year
Placement Blog: Conservation Science Department, Bristol Zoo
My Responsibilities: I have been working on several primatology focussed projects. This has included observing the behaviour of captive Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) as well as desktop research for
Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates.
My other duties have included editing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and helping out with the zoos annual symposium.
My Experience: It has been great to put into practice the skills I have learned at university, such as animal behavioural observation methods and academic writing.
I feel the research I have conducted on placement has been useful preparation for my dissertation next year. It has also been good to see how an ex situ conservation organisation works and make contacts within the industry.
I would recommend carrying out a placement year to anyone who has the opportunity.