With the end of the breeding season quickly approaching, we now begin to transition over to our summer studies. As we say goodbye to Hope, Stephanie, Gigi, and Hailey, we also need to welcome our next set of interns. In typical PDXWildlife fashion, we like to send out an introductory blog to introduce each of them. Enjoy!

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Hello Everyone,

My name is Lorelei and I’m going to be interning for the PDX Wildlife team this summer in Ya’an! I’m a senior at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Ok and am currently pursuing a degree in Organismic Biology and in Geography. Conservation is a huge part of my post Master’s plan and I’m extremely excited to be working with Giant Pandas!

Some experience I have in observational studies was being able to go out with bat Biologists to observe the bat banding process and it was really cool to be able to see some endangered species like the Ozark Big Eared Bat (Not banded in study, was released). I’ve also been lucky enough to help with the care of NSU’s bees, mostly just learning how the hive works and what to check for to ensure the hive is successful. I can say the skill I am most proud of from hanging with the bees is I can keep a smoker going! Anyone who keeps/works with bees will know how hard they are to keep lit at times!

Other than hanging out with bees or bats, I do spend much of my time outdoors. Either I’m hiking at a local trail or exploring around on the Illinois River. While I’m out and about I usually work on my plant identification, though it seems I’m only good with Oklahoma trees! On days when it isn’t so great to be outside I end up reading a book or playing video games. Most of what I enjoy is fantasy fiction, but mysteries and true story books tend to catch my eye. I’m a huge nerd who always has a “Background Gryffindor” costume. As of right now my favorite video games are Skyrim and Fallout 4, I’m trying to platinum them both! Throughout the day, I do always have music playing and I enjoy going to concerts; my favorite concerts being The Dropkick Murphys and Marilyn Manson! Other bands I like would be Die Antwoord and Jimmy Buffet. My music tastes tend to be eclectic.

I do have a cat named Willow, named after the character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is an outdoor cat, who now guards my plants (right now my garden is only cactuses). We adopted her after she was abandoned and the animal shelter was full. She’s an avid talker and loves attention!

One of the many reasons why I’m excited about visiting China is to experience the food. I’m excited to see what traditional Chinese food is like, plus I believe it is a great way to gain insight into the culture. Additionally, I am thrilled to try out local teas, as I am a tea enthusiast. I enjoy cooking and am really hoping to befriend the neighbors to try and learn how to make traditional Chinese dishes. In exchange, I’m hoping I can teach them how to make southern foods. And since I’ll be learning Chinese this interaction would be a great way to help “beef up” my vocab! I’m looking forward to continuing my blog throughout the summer, I’m sure there will be lots of exciting events/interactions with the pandas!

Over and Out

-Lorelei B.