Why This Topic?
Hi there! Before you take the time to further explore this web page, I thought I would leave a personal note introducing myself, and explaining why I chose this topic!
My name is Jessica Thomsen, I am a 3rd year student in the Applied Animal Biology program in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. As with most of the people in this program, I am hoping to one day become a veterinarian.
Like most pre-vet and vet students, my fascination with animals began at a very early age. In fact, ( and I am not even making this up) one of my first words as a child was “kitty” and for the first year after I learned that word, my parents tell me every animal I saw, from dogs to birds to squirrels to animals at the zoo, was a “KITTY!” They claim to have had a hard time keeping me away from any poor animal I came in contact with.
My interest in polar bears is something that stems from an experience that I feel has shaped my career path. Before the age of 15, I knew I wanted to “be a vet”- but this was mainly based on the notion that I LOVED puppies, and thought the lions on TV wildlife channels would be fun to cuddle with. When I was 15 years old, my family and I went on a tip to California, where we visited Sea World. As an “animal lover,” I was extremely excited for this trip, but mostly I was excited to see the polar bear that resides at Sea World. We saved the bear for last, and I remember actaully running towards the exhibit (being a 15 year old girl, this was only slightly embarassing). I will never forget the extreme sadness and dissapointment that came over me when I saw him. First of all, it was extremely warm that day in California, and I couldnt help but feel that this poor guy was not exactly comfortable in the heat. He was just laying here with his back towards us, not moving. I was so unimpressed with what I saw. I couldnt believe that was the best Sea World could come up with for such an amazing animal. Even with my limited knowledge about animal welfare, I knew there was something not quite right about that picture.
I think that was the day that my interest in the welfare and behavior of animals was sparked. Although school has lead me to study the welfare of dairy cows, and sparked a strong interest in farm animal welfare, I wanted to use this project as an opportunity to explore the issue that started it all. It was also a great excuse to watch countless youtube videos of these adorable and fascinating animals 🙂
The polar bear who started it all.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:41 pm