Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here!
Walking in someone else’s footsteps for a day can put a lot of things in perspective, like your desires and goals for your future. Being able to experience the two worlds of research (in the field and in the lab), is a favorable aspect that Mr. Jean Pierre Montagne’s career has. He is a senior research technician at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. He has been an employee for 15 years now and enjoys every part of his career, especially being able to work in a biodiversity hotspot like San Diego County.
Typically, a lot of previous experience is required before being considered for a position with San Diego Zoo Global. It is rare to get a career straight out of college. In the case of Mr. Montagne, his dedication paid off. Shortly after receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology specializing in behavior, ecology, and evolution, from the University of California, San Diego, he received a volunteer position with the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. He started with observation work with rhinoceroses and then moved on to condor observation. After his brief time observing the condors, he landed a paid position with the Institute for Conservation Research.
Working in the field is a highlight of Mr. Montagne’s job. Currently he is researching the California ground squirrel. Why ground squirrels? Ground squirrels are masters of a very important task: burrowing to create tunnels and alcoves underground. This is the exact skill that researchers and field personnel need for saving burrowing owls, a species that is currently on the decline across the county. Burrowing owl habitat is being destroyed, and Mr. Montagne is participating in efforts to restore it. Along with his ground squirrel work, he also monitors the biodiversity at the Safari Park Native Biodiversity Preserve using pitfall traps. This area is abundant with native species of snakes, lizards, and birds. This coastal sage scrub preserve is home to numerous animals that all play a role in the biodiversity of San Diego County. There is where we had the exciting experience of checking the pitfall traps and recording the data under the supervision of Mr. Montagne.
The experience of walking in Mr. Montagne’s shoes in the field, by checking traps and making observations, was invigorating and made me feel like an actual researcher. The pitfall trap project has been around for approximately 15 years, growing and accumulating more data each month. The traps are open eight months of the year, February to November, generating an almost constant stream of data. In the field there are 7 arrays, Y-like structures, consisting of 144 buckets total. We discovered some of San Diego County’s biodiversity hands-on, encountering a variety of reptiles in the pitfall traps. My partner and I were lucky enough to find a juvenile orange-throated whiptail lizard. This species has many distinguishing characteristics such as five or six stripes running parallel, from head to tail down the back and sides of the lizard. Once they reach adulthood, the males, and occasionally females, have a distinct orange throat most prominent in breeding season. We recorded the data on this lizard and a few others. It was exciting to be able to interact with the biodiversity around us and to learn about how the research being done is beneficial.
Being able to experience what Mr. Montagne does was phenomenal. I enjoyed every moment from inside the Institute to out in the field. After learning about his routine of collecting data and the monitoring of the Native Biodiversity Preserve, it made me feel fortunate enough to call this home. My time with him reminded me that working hard and staying focused will always be a benefit to my future. Mr. Montagne’s is currently back at school at San Diego State University pursuing a master’s degree. Some advice that Mr. Montagne gave for an aspiring teenager is to volunteer for specific positions related to the career you want to pursue and, above all, go to school. Walking in someone else’s footsteps for an afternoon was fun, but the journey it will take to get to a career like Mr. Montagne’s takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Hopefully the finish line is exactly what you are striving for.
Sierra, Careers Team (week 3)
WOW!, what an experience, my passion is reptiles and in particular leopard geckos. Unfortunately in my country (UK) we can’t see them in the wild., but we do try and keep them as close to nature as possible. Having the opportunity to follow in someones footsteps like that must be a dream come true.
Best
Harry
Harry,
It really was a dream come true! I am sorry you are unable to see the geckos in the wild. I encourage you to try your hardest to pursue your passion in reptiles. Its never to late to have a dream.
Sincerely,
Sierra