Wildlife enthusiast who developed Ker-Plunk for elephant’s graduates with first class honours

A student who dreams of helping design zoos and created a game of Ker-plunk for elephants while on a placement, graduated from the University of Salford on Monday 7 July.

Olivia Fothergill graduated with a First Class Degree in Wildlife Conservation with Zoo Biology with studies in the USA and Professional Experience. She has soaked up every opportunity during her four-year studies, including a year of international study, a trip to Uganda and a several placements where she enriched the lives of many animals.

Olivia has always loved animals and wanted to work with them since she was a child. She said: “My dream was to work in wildlife, but I never thought there’d be jobs in this area. I was looking at opportunities in wildlife journalism and saw my course (Wildlife Conservation with Zoo Biology) and was blown away. It was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Olivia spent a year abroad for her second year, where she was a part of a pioneering group of six students who were the first to go out to Otterbein University in Ohio. During this time Olivia interned at both the Ohio Wildlife Center’s Hospital and Education Center, alongside studying at renowned zoological park, Columbus Zoo.

It was during her classes at Columbus Zoo where she helped a baby Asian elephant learn to use his trunk by creating an industrial scale game of Ker-Plunk.

“I made a big a big tube with branches in. The elephants had to learn to wrap their trunk around the stick to remove them and let the treats fall. It took a while for them to figure out and kept them entertained for quite a long time!” Olivia said.

Following her time in Ohio, Olivia has continued to aid the development of wildlife. During her placement year, Olivia spent three months at a seal rescue centre in Ireland and a further six months as a remote Research Assistant for a company in Ohio. Olivia was responsible for researching rabies to help ensure the organisation were taking the right steps to protect animals at risk, and reduce the necessity for some animals being euthanised.

Finally, during a 16-day expedition to Uganda in her final year, she helped uncover a new discovery after spotting a rare species of frog transitioning from a tadpole, a behaviour that hadn’t been documented before.

In terms of plans after university, Olivia wants to continue her passion for wildlife. “I have always loved the idea of being an ecologist, but after designing an enclosure using SketchUp software at Salford, and presenting a different enclosure design in front of a committee of zoo officials at Columbus Zoo, I have discovered a love for zoo enclosure design too. My options are still very open but I’d hope to do something where I can make a difference.”

Dr Sean O’Hara, Lecturer in Wildlife Cognition and Behaviour at the University of Salford, said: “Olivia has championed saying yes to all opportunities. If we had to come up with a name for students who maximise their time at university, we might have to call it the “Olivia model”.

“She’s been just brilliant and embraced all learning. First, it was a 1-year USA exchange, then a placement year, then taking our tropical ecology module delivered in Uganda – to name just a few. What’s more, Olivia did it scoring top marks through all of these assessed components too! We’re so proud of you and all you’ve achieved Olivia!”