Call of the wild
Julie Barnes (BVSc(Hons) 1989), Director of Animal Care and Health at Santa Barbara Zoo.
Picture: Santa Barbara Zoo.
Dr Julie Barnes always liked working with Australian animals, but these days, as the Director of Animal Care and Health at California’s Santa Barbara Zoo, she’s concentrating on conserving endangered North American species.
“Our zoo, along with many other partners, has made a significant contribution to the recovery of the endangered California condor. The pay-off is really starting to happen with that now – there are over 400 condors back in the wild,” she explains.
The zoo also contributes to recovery programs for the Channel Island fox, which lives only on six of the eight Channel Islands off southern California, and the California red-legged frog. It has been asked to partner on other recovery programs for endangered species, such as the unarmored threespine stickleback, a small fish native to a watershed 100 kilometres from Santa Barbara.
A lifelong lover of animals, Barnes’ journey to a career with them began late in secondary school, when she decided to study veterinary medicine. It wasn’t until university that she discovered her deeper interest lay in wildlife care – an area in which it is notoriously difficult to find veterinary jobs.
“I think the capacity of zoos to educate people about the importance of conservation is really where they can have the most impact.”
“When you go through vet school you’re constantly told that there are not many openings in zoo and wildlife medicine, so you know it’s going to be challenging,” she says.
After 12 months at a private mixed practice in Shepparton, Barnes travelled to England to locum for a year and ended up staying for seven, achieving her Master’s degree in wild animal health at London Zoo. From there, she has worked at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, at Ocean Park in Hong Kong, and spent time on scientific research vessels in Antarctica, performing anaesthesia on seals.
“I think the capacity of zoos to educate people about the importance of conservation is really where they can have the most impact.”
That career highlight wound up being a personal one, too. While on the remote continent, Barnes met her American husband, who was scuba diving on a krill research project. Their marriage set her life in a new direction, to a career in the United States.
She started working at Los Angeles Zoo and is now six years into her position at Santa Barbara Zoo, which recently expanded to include animal care in addition to animal health. Barnes’ experience has led her to believe that zoos can play a crucial role in conservation.
“Zoos can provide valuable expertise and support to recovery programs for threatened and endangered species around the world, but I think the capacity of zoos to educate people about the importance of conservation is really where they can have the most impact.”
By Erin Munro (BA 2006)