Lauran posing with her favorite animal, the giant panda, while visiting the National Zoo, DC

Help me welcom Lauran to PDXWildlife as one of our summer interns at Bifengxia!

Lauran graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and started in career in health care. In September 2010 she moved from Kansas City, MO to Portland, OR where she spent 2 years teaching preschool before returning to school to work on a Master’s degree in Environmental Science. In 2013 she was accepted to the Biology and Management of Zoo Animals program at Portland Community College and will graduate in June 2015.

Lauran doing the lion demonstration talk at the Oregon Zoo

After graduation she wants to finish her Master’s degree and pursue a career as a zoo keeper. Lauran has spent the last year interning as an animal keeper at the Oregon Zoo. She has experience working with a variety of animals; ranging from polar bears to frogs to vultures. Lauran has worked on not only learning the husbandry and welfare of these animals, but also how to engage in public education programs within the zoo environment and with offsite school programs. During her internship, Lauran got develop and implement training protocols for dwarf mongoose, assist with enrichment development of the animals she worked with, and participate in a variety of medical procedures, such as lioness pregnancy checks. Lauran is also a member of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK).

Lauran giving a reptile keeper talk at the Oregon Zoo

Outside of the zoo, Lauran has spent the last 3 years volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS). She spends most of her time on the Running with Dogs team, where she is partnered up with a canine buddy and they run together a few times a week. Lauran also received training in first aid and CPR and is a member of the Emergency Animal Shelter (EAS) team. This extensive training allows to her to help with animal emergencies due to either natural disasters or human caused cases. She also spent time on the

Lauran’s “girls”, Kitsune (left) and Kyra (right)

OHS animal research and rescue team and as a surgery assistant. Lauran’s very excited to visit China and work with her favorite animal; the giant panda. She has never been to China so this opportunity is a dream come true! Even though she is beyond thrilled, Lauran is sad to be away from her girls (2 dogs) for 3 months!

Why don’t you guys suggest things for Lauran to blog about while she’s at BFX so she doesn’t miss her dogs as much 😉

-Meg