CROW Feathers: Eliza King
Eliza King is the Conservation Education and Marketing intern at CROW. We sat down with her to ask her about her internship so far.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from Northern California but went to school in Minnesota. I stayed after graduating and have been living in Minneapolis, MN for the past couple years.
How long have you worked at CROW?
I’ve been here for almost two months, which is crazy. My internship ends right before the holidays, and it’s been flying by.
What is your favorite part of your internship?
I really like getting to go down to the hospital to observe our staff and students working on intakes, treatments, and with the ambassadors. It’s a really cool behind-the-scenes look into everything that they do, and I get to help share their work with the public through social media and other projects. I also like going to the community events. Sanibel is a very tight-knit community, so getting to meet more members of the community is really cool too.
What is your favorite animal and why?
I have really been loving armadillos lately, and when I learned that there are some on island I freaked out. It’s my goal to see one before I leave, but so far, I haven’t had any luck. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though. At CROW, I really like seeing the gopher tortoises, especially when they’re outside grazing. We also got a softshell turtle recently, and he might be my new favorite animal. He’s just a strange-looking dude in the best way possible, and I love it!
What is your most memorable CROW moment so far?
I think my most memorable moment has been getting to interact with Crowaline, our fish crow ambassador. She’s still undergoing training, but I’ve been in her enclosure with her to get photos and videos for social media and she’s always very interested in my shoes. Last time it looked like she was trying to wear them, [laughs]. It’s super cool to be that up close and personal with her and get to see firsthand how smart she is. I’ve also been able to assist with some patient restraint while they’re receiving treatments, and those are incredible experiences. I see these birds in the wild and in pictures, but here I am holding them? That’s just insane!
What activities or hobbies do you enjoy outside of CROW?
I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach, of course, also been biking around the island a lot. I also have more time to read. The public library on island has a huge collection that I’m definitely taking advantage of. I’m painting a little with some watercolors and been baking lots of things which has been fun.
What has been the most surprising thing during your time as an intern/extern?
I wasn’t really familiar with CROW before getting this internship, so it’s been amazing to learn about and see everything that we do. I didn’t realize how involved I’d get to be in all aspects of the work—from interacting with guests in the visitor center, to observing intakes and treatment, to doing off-site events with the community, and also getting to attend releases for our rehabbed patients—but I’ve loved it!
What are some of your goals or aspirations for the future?
I’m still not quite sure what I want to do next. This is my first experience doing community outreach and education, and I’ve really been enjoying it, but I also do really like being more involved with the animal-side of things. That’s what more of my background is in. I think grad school is the plan, and I love the idea of continuing to do education with the public, maybe in a science or natural history museum setting, but who knows where I’ll end up, [laughs].