How Young People Can Hone a Passion for Wildlife

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant always dreamed of hosting a nature show. Throughout her childhood, she spent many hours watching the classic Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom series and imagining a future for herself heading out in the wild to educate others about animals.

Today, Dr. Rae is fulfilling her dream as co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild. But for a long time, her path seemed to lead elsewhere — a career as a professional classical musician.

Learn how Dr. Rae turned her passion for wildlife into a career and discover how you can support young ones in their wildlife conservation career journeys.

Three people releasing a bird into the wild. The person on the far right has their backs to the camera and is a man wearing a tan shirt and hat. The person who released the bird is a woman wearing a blue button up shirt and blue latex gloves. Behind her is a woman with a brimmed hat and a red fleece coat, who is smiling as the bird flies away.

How Dr. Rae followed her passion for wildlife

For Dr. Rae, a career as a musician seemed to be a no-brainer — to everyone except her. She began piano lessons at age 5 and learned how to play the harpsichord. She dove into classical music, touring with the New World Baroque Chamber Music Orchestra and studied vocal music with the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. Dr. Rae was even accepted to a conservatory in her senior year of high school.

But her passion was elsewhere — in science.

“My parents had a tough job because all signs pointed to science being a really difficult journey for me and music being a smooth one,” Dr. Rae said. “But it wasn’t what I wanted. I was really thrilled with nature and conservation and that’s what I wanted to do.”

Her parents were concerned about her grades. She received D’s in math and science classes and A’s in music. But Dr. Rae didn’t let this discourage her from having a career in science.

“If you find your grades aren’t matching how awesome you think a subject is, try not to be discouraged by that, try not to let it symbolize where your kids may go in the future,” Dr. Rae said.

Growing up, Dr. Rae loved watching nature shows and learning about wildlife. She always knew that’s where her passion lay.

So, she went to Emory University to study environmental science instead of heading to the conservatory. And despite science not being her strong subject in high school, she’s made a career for herself in wildlife conservation.

Learn more about Dr. Rae’s journey in her book, Wild Life.

A young girl sitting in a tree, using binoculars. She's wearing a blue shirt, grey shorts, blue hat and has on a pink backpack.

Encouraging a calling for wildlife conservation

“My motto is believe in your passion more than your performance,” Dr. Rae said. “I was really thrilled with nature and conservation and that’s what I wanted to do.”

For young folks interested in nature, continue to follow that passion.

“Our society will go a long way if our kids grow up to be adults that have an inherent love of nature,” Dr. Rae said.

You can help the young people in your life find the joy of nature by teaching them about wild animals, plants and the environment. Encourage them to use their skills in tandem with their interest in wildlife.

“For conservation, we need to make sure we’re focused on the skills people have. Those can be creative skills, they can be very nontraditional skills,” Dr. Rae said.

Conservation is a field that needs people of all skills, not just researchers or biologists.

A young girl with her mom outside on a trail through the forest. The girl is pointing towards something near a some water that is in front of them.

The next generation of wildlife conservationists

This new generation of conservationists will be built by people of different backgrounds and skillsets. For young people interested in working in the field of the future, Dr. Rae encourages them to seek out conservationists on social media, who post educational content about wildlife.

“Because of things like social media, the science world has been opened up to people who aren’t doing biology but are in other aspects, such as people who are educators,” Dr. Rae said. “It takes a very specific expertise.”

Becoming a wildlife co-host has brought Dr. Rae’s passion for the natural world together with her ability to perform. She credits her time spent on stage with classical music as part of the reason she’s able to comfortably communicate in front of a television audience.

It’s brought her full circle from watching Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler on television to co-hosting with Peter Gros. Perhaps one day a member of the future generation of wildlife conservationists will credit following Dr. Rae on social media as an entry into their career.

A young black man sitting amongst large shoots of bamboo. He is wearing a teal button up shirt and a tan hat and has glasses on. You can see a red strap of his backpack over one shoulder.

Tyus Williams

Up and coming conservationists to follow

Find inspiring wildlife conservationists on social media. Don’t know where to get started? Consider following some of Dr. Rae’s favorites on social media. Plus, check out Dr. Rae and Peter’s social media pages.

Jordan Veasley @junglejordan23

Veasley is a zookeeper and wildlife educator who takes followers to different zoos and aquariums to learn something new about wildlife. His videos cover all sorts of topics from how to become zookeeper to relating pop culture to wildlife (see “What Kind of Bat is Batman?”).

Tyus Williams @sciencewithtyus

A Ph.D. student at University of California, Berkely, Williams studies wildlife ecology. On social media, he’s able to integrate social issues into wildlife issues, thinking of the ways the two intersect.

For more conservationists to check out, see Dr. Rae’s favorite inspiring women in the field and learn about four Black women making waves in conservation.