Fostering Dreams of Wildlife Medicine: Sammi Luk's Journey to Vet School through Wild Ontario

Walking into freshman year orientation, every student is immediately bombarded with a seemingly endless stream of clubs, opportunities, and events. Whether you commit to just one or a dozen, there's always the sense of not knowing if you're missing out or preparing yourself "correctly" for vet school.
My name is Sammi, and as a Phase 1 student at OVC this year, I'm here to tell you that there's no linear path to becoming a veterinarian, and how one of my commitments at the University of Guelph ultimately shaped my journey to vet school.
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What is Wild Ontario?
Since the start of my undergraduate degree in Animal Biology fall of 2019, I have been volunteering at Wild Ontario. Located in the Arboretum, Wild Ontario is made up of just 2 staff and many student volunteers that care and train for non-releasable raptors as well as educate a variety of audiences about wildlife and conservation across Ontario. The opportunity to work with these normally wild raptors is not only an incredible privilege, but has also been such an asset as a pre- veterinary student.
Now at this point you may be wondering- what are raptors? And do they have anything to do with Jurassic Park? Raptors are birds that hunt using their powerful feet and talons, and are also known for their keen eyesight and sharp beaks. At Wild Ontario, we have owls, falcons, hawks, and a Turkey Vulture (our honorary raptor).

Mowat the Barred Owl, a non-releasable educational ambassador at Wild Ontario

A Day in the Life of a Volunteer at Wild OntarioA common concern among prospective volunteers concerns the time commitment. As a busy student, I can say that volunteering at Wild Ontario has been attainable largely due to the flexibility the program allows us. Every semester, we get to choose our own weekly session schedules. Volunteers typically go in to the facility, which we call the "flights," 3 times a week for an hour or more at a time.
My session starts when I walk into the flights, first to check in on all the birds, then to prepare the food that will be used to train and feed the bird I'm seeing. During a session, I retrieve the bird, then train for a variety of different behaviours, starting from stations around the mew (aka. the enclosure), step up onto the glove, and gearing up our equipment, to going on walks within the beautiful Arboretum, and even practicing staying calm while speaking to anyone we may see during our walk! These may all seem like small tasks, but we do not only learn how to train an animal known for hiding their behaviours, but also prepare the birds on how to stay calm on glove during our educational programs, even in front of a crowd with hundreds of people! At any given hour of the day, volunteers are coming in and out, so it's easy to ask for a second opinion on a training goal or a health issue that arises

Apollo the American Kestrel, a non-releasable educational ambassador at Wild Ontario.

In addition to routine sessions, there are also assigned additional activities that include tasks like preparing food for everyone's daily use and cleaning the facility. Weekly meetings also help us keep on top of everyone's progress with the birds, their health status, any flights issues, as well as celebrate members of our team that went above and beyond that week.
How it Fostered My Love for WildlifeVeterinary medicine is such a diverse, ever changing field that it can be so overwhelming as a pre- veterinary student to even start to imagine what type of veterinarian you can be. Growing up in Hong Kong, which was a dense city with limited access to experience, I mainly had exposure to only cats and dogs, and never even considered being anything other than a small animal veterinarian. I applied to Wild Ontario as a first year student thinking it would be a cool way to gain animal experience near campus, not knowing it would change my life.
What changed my mind was learning about the birds’ stories about why they’re non-releasable, and having the stark realisation that we as humans have a direct impact on the species we are lucky to be surrounded by everyday in Ontario. The first raptor I handled was Quito, a Broad-winged Hawk, a migratory bird that was strangely found in a driveway near Toronto. She was taken to the Toronto Wildlife Centre for a wing injury and possibly a head injury, so it was concluded that she most likely collided with a window. However, the more unusual discovery was that she was extremely comfortable with people. This means that she may have been taken illegally from the wild as a chick, then later released in the city, which is extremely dangerous as it put her at a disadvantage due to a lack of survival skills. She has a job now with us as an educational ambassador, but I would much rather see raptors thriving in the wild!

Quito the Broad-winged Hawk, a non-releasable educational ambassador at Wild Ontario.

Knowing that I can contribute to the environment and help the animals I love, as well as educate other people, is what ultimately drove me to consider being a wildlife veterinarian. During undergraduate classes, I explored this by pursuing and completing projects about the birds I’ve handled. For example, I wrote about the effects of urban sprawl on the fledging success of American Kestrels, designed a retrofit for Mowat the Barred Owl’s mew, and created the ideal nutrition plan for a Barred Owl.
I also ended up completing an undergraduate thesis under Norris Lab in partnership with Bird Safe Guelph, which focused on the anthropogenic effects of light and window density on the occurence of bird window collisions on the UofG campus. This project not only highlighted the importance of thinking with One Health mindset, but also allowed me to engage with the community by recruiting volunteers and educating others.

Annual bird layout of bird window collision victims during the Spring and Fall Migration seasons of 2022 (FLAP, 2022).

Transferrable Skills from Wild OntarioBeing surrounded by a huge team of like-minded volunteers at Wild Ontario has not only been rewarding because of the new friends I've made, but also because there is such a diverse array of experience levels with the birds and wildlife that you are always learning. This is currently my 5th year at Wild Ontario, and I’ve learned to never be afraid to ask about anything, which is such an important skill to have whether you’re animal care assistant or a veterinarian.
I’ve also had the opportunity to train new volunteers every year, and learn as much about teaching others as the volunteers learn about raptors. This not only improved my leadership skills, but along with presenting during programs, increased my confidence in public speaking. The constant communication between bird teams also solidified record-keeping skills through tracking each bird's health and behaviour, which has been hugely applicable during my time working as a vet assistant.

2022 Cannon Day Program, featuring Mowat the Barred Owl.

Other key skills I’ve picked up during my time as a volunteer include general husbandry skills like how to prepare food for exotic and wild animals, equipment maintenance, and enrichment. In addition to this, I’ve become familiar with avian and rodent anatomy, learnt how to score body conditions, how to cope the beak and talons of a raptor, how to restrain birds safely, and how to administer medications. The skills and connections that I’ve gained at Wild Ontario have been invaluable to my career, and I could not be more grateful that I stepped out of my comfort zone to volunteer my time there.
How can I become a Volunteer or Explore Wildlife Medicine as a Pre-Veterinary Student?Wild Ontario typically has student intakes every fall- no experience needed. We release the applications on our social media pages, so keep your eyes peeled! Until then, you can contact us or talk to us at programs to learn about our experiences volunteering. Additionally, I would highly recommend incorporating different species and management practices into class assignments like I have, just to build interest in different fields of veterinary medicine.
From a more practical standpoint, I also ended up working at Tai Wai Exotics and Small Animal Hospital, a 24-hour veterinary hospital located in Hong Kong that intakes any species, including wildlife. This helped me get exposure to every type of animal, to get a feel for what I might be interested in. If you want to learn more, one thing I did was reach out to wildlife veterinarians. If you decide wildlife medicine isn’t for you- that’s okay, and is exactly why exploring different fields is so important!
Reach out!Visit Wild Ontario at our educational programs, check out our website, or consider sponsoring a bird! https://wildontario.ca/
@wild_ontario on IG
Wild Ontario on FB
Find out more about Bird Safe Guelph @birdsafeguelph on IG, or FLAP @flapcanada on IG Follow along my journey @futurevet.kalico on IG, or reach out at [email protected]
Written by Sammi Luk                                                                                                                                                            Edited by Emily Camarda, Junior Editor