• Question: why did you what to because a scientist

    Asked by David Potter to Carrie, Cedric, Ellen, Ines, Rupert on 6 Mar 2017. This question was also asked by claralores14, Martha, Passovsky69, EllaBella, Ellie, Han-solo28, Harrison Copp, BNiallB, kkcrispy.
    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      Because lots of people don’t know about the great stuff that science is discovering and some people have stopped trusting what scientists find. I think if you talk to us you’d find out how much we care about what we do and we’d get a chance to answer your really important questions

    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      I didn’t know what I wanted to be until near the end of my time at university. I discovered the science of studying animal behaviour by studying the songs of birds. I wanted to carry on doing this – and I did. I didn’t think of myself as a scientist – just as someone who was really interested in animal behaviour. I read lots of books and articles and started asking questions about what animals were doing and why. And then I tried to answer those questions. And that’s what makes a scientist: someone who has learned lots of interesting things, asks new questions and works out the answers – it’s like being a police detective except there’s no crime, just puzzles to solve.

    • Photo: Cedric Tan

      Cedric Tan answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      I pursued my dream of doing conservation :), along the way, I studied (hard), communicated my research and applied for jobs 🙂

      Oh I accidentally misread the question. Why do I want to be scientist? Its because I want to bring humans and nature together so that we can better protect the environment for our future generations of humans and other species

      The forest acts as a water catchment area, the animals are a beauty and some villagers depend on them for food and the plants, there so much more to discover about them, like the medicinal properties. Not to forget, the trees and plants provide oxygen for us.

      Therefore by doing my research on the clouded leopard, we can better protect it and the forest it lives in and ultimately provide for the future generation like you.

    • Photo: Ines Goncalves

      Ines Goncalves answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      Partly because I’m a very curious person and partly because I didn’t want to grow up. By becoming a researcher, a scientist, I could continue studying and not have to get a “real” job. I’ve always felt drawn to the beauty of nature and everything wild, so to learn how to study animal behaviour properly felt like the natural next step for me.

    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 7 Mar 2017:

      This is a really hard question to answer – i think because I don’t remember a time when i thought ‘I must become a scientist’. When I left school I wanted to go to university (because that is what everyone was doing) and I found a degree course which was looking at Animal Behaviour. I loved animals, and when i saw wild animals in Kenya for the first time two years earlier i had been in awe. Of course I heard all the news reports that so many species are in decline. And I think instead of thinking ‘I want to be a scientist’ I thought ‘I want to make a difference’. And I think finding out why animals do what they do and what makes them tick is the first step in helping to make a difference for them 🙂

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