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Andy Parks: Life of a Biologist
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Andy Parks is a biologist based in California, United States. He is currently in Thailand. Connect with Andy on Instagram @parxparadox and through his website www.andrewjparks.wordpress.com
CAREER PATHS
I graduated from University of California, Davis with a BSc in biology, emphasizing in ecology, evolution, and biodiversity, with minors in wildlife conservation and anthropology.
All my life I have been intrigued by the infinite splendor of the natural world, and the question of mankind’s place within it. In addition to gaining a better understanding of the fundamental mechanics of ecology and evolutionary processes that govern life on Earth, I am dedicated to the conservation of Earth’s natural resources.
I have participated in a number of scientific research and conservation projects including desert tortoise surveys in the Mojave Desert, California condor radio-telemetry in the mountains north of Los Angeles, and bamboo lemur behavioral studies in Madagascar.
In the fall of 2018, Andy had the unique pleasure of getting acquainted with 38-year-old Condor#20, one of only 22 wild condors in California in the mid 1980s. After 30 years in a captive breeding program Condor#20 was returned to the wild in 2015 to reign over Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, where Andy met #20 during a routine health check.
Photo credit: Andy Parks
Andy planting trees with local people in Kianjavato, Madagascar to help restore the forest.
Photo credit: Andy Parks
My newest adventure is in eastern Thailand, as an intern at the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station to study the spatial ecology of king cobras.
I plan to go back to graduate school next year to study conservation genetics and molecular ecology.
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