Seidensticker and began an internship project of tracking feral cats that were in the zoo. Next thing he knew, Craig joined forces with Dr. John Seidensticker, author of Great Cats (Majestic Creatures of the Wild), which Craig had already read cover to cover multiple times and considered it the big cat “bible”! John Seidensticker, and she would forward his application over. As fate would have it, the woman who first received the application, Melissa Gaulding, reached out to inform Craig that a brand new Cheetah Conservation Station was underway at the National Zoo headed by Dr. This fascination of big cats was later channeled into Craig’s Smithsonian internship application, but it turned out that he had accidentally applied for an internship in the Zoo’s graphics department. All that had been taken from private ownership.” Craig volunteered there for several months, which strengthened his love for big cats. Over the next few months, Craig also connected with an animal care facility in Pittsboro, North Carolina which confiscated large, exotic animals, primarily large cats. Alston-Mills encouraged Craig to apply for an internship through the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park that would provide him with real world experience. Alston-Mills had connections and knowledge of opportunities that would allow Craig the ability to cultivate his passion. Alston-Mills gave Craig more insight into the possibilities of a career in animal husbandry. “I get that you love animals, I get that you want to be a veterinarian, but do you love medicine?” I said “no” and she said, “Then sweetie, you're going to be the worst Veterinarian in the world.”Īnd that was that. He recounts it went a little something like: Alston-Mills after class in which she questioned him about why he was a student in her class and why he wanted to be a veterinarian. Craig remembers one particular conversation with Dr. Alston-Mills with having been his first professional mentor who had a profound impact as she helped him to realize his love of animal husbandry rather than continuing down the path of veterinary medicine. Brenda Alston-Mills, brought Craig to a crossroads in his academic career. However, a course he took, anatomy and physiology of farm animals taught by Dr. Like many who enjoy working with animals, their first thought is to take on veterinary school, and Craig was no different. Once he graduated high school and moved to North Carolina State for college, he then needed to materialize his passion into a college degree. This was just the first step in a long career in animal management. Though Craig does mention “passion can be fleeting at times”, for him it was not. Tygh were memorable career role models who guided his first impactful decision in animal management. Robert Tygh, who encouraged Craig’s curiosities and involved him in the decision to spay his cat. Craig connected with a local vet named Dr. Though his mother was not a fan of adopting a stray cat, Craig persisted and she eventually directed him to seek out a vet to give the cat proper medical care. Craig with a critically endangered Sumatran tiger cub born at the zoo.Ĭraig Saffoe, Curator of Great Cats, Andean Bears and Kids’ Farm at the Smithsonian National Zoo recounts childhood memories of exploring his neighborhood with friends, fetching balls from storm drains and eventually discovering that cats were living in them - “gutter cats” as he called them.Ĭraig grew up in North Carolina on the military base, Fort Bragg and like most young kids do when they see a homeless animal, Craig began to feed one of these gutter cats.
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