Internship with EGA Wildlife

A few months ago, I applied for an internship with a small company called EGA Wildlife. It is a small consultant located in the Spanish Pyrenees specialized in the study and monitoring of large wild mammals and in the management and conservation of protected areas.

The company is formed by professionals in Zoology and conservation biology. They perform different activities, specially population records of wild ungulates such as Wild Goat, Wild Boar, Roe Deer, Red Deer and Pyrenean Chamois; which they have tracked every year for the last 30 years or so. They use different tools: field work, Geographic Information Systems, ecological data analysis...

Pyrenean chamois (own picture, taken in the French Pyrenees)

The company started in 1992 with two members widely experienced in the field of biodiversity conservation. Most of the work is performed in the region of Aragón, but they also work in other Spanish regions and even other European countries. They work primarily for public administrations and collaborate with non-governmental organizations dedicated to biodiversity management and conservation.

They have produced over 100 scientific reports, some of which are listed here:

Long term monitoring of wild ungulates in Aragon, Spain: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Long-term-monitoring-of-wild-ungulates-in-Aragon-Spain

Can roe deer hunting be selective? A case study from the Pyrenees: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338565606_Can_roe_deer_hunting_be_selective_A_case_study_from_the_Pyrenees

ESTIMATING IBERIAN WILD GOAT ABUNDANCE IN A LARGE RUGGED FOREST HABITAT: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337439519_ESTIMATING_IBERIAN_WILD_GOAT_ABUNDANCE_IN_A_LARGE_RUGGED_FOREST_HABITAT_Estimacion_de_la_abundancia_de_la_cabra_montes_en_un_habitat_forestal_de_montana_de_gran_superficie

Population estimates of forest ungulates in the Señorío de Bértiz Natural Park: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333618502_Population_esti-mates_of_forest_ungulates_in_the_Senorio_de_Bertiz_Natural_Park

EGA Wildlife website: http://www.egawildlife.com/

In December I sent my CV in order to apply for the internship, which I was really interested in, since it is very related to my Zoology course and to what I want to orientate my career to. They seemed particularly interested in my Zoology degree, which I had to describe in detail.

During Christmas break, I got to visit to their office in Saragossa, Spain, where I had a job interview, as well as they explained to me what my role in the company would be during the internship (September to December): I would join them for the field work–this means waking up at 4AM sometimes!–, collect data an analyze it, as well as attending various biodiversity congresses all around Spain. Sometimes they get miscellaneous work, such as measuring ungulate skulls or dissecting wild boar corpses, which I will have to make as well. They decided they will accept my application so that I would start my internship in September.

To sum up, this internship is a great opportunity to start implementing everything I've learnt during my course after I graduate. I'm really excited since it is exactly what I was looking for, and the location –the Pyrenees, in my home country– is stunning. I have really high expectations for this opportunity and I truly hope to learn a lot.