WILDLIFE FORENSICS

By

Paul Affeldt

A little bit about Wildlife forensics

Poaching is one of the most serious crimes investigated by wildlife forensic scientists.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory is the only lab in the world dedicated to crimes against wildlife.

The national average yearly salary for a wildlife forensic specialist is $39,000.

Some of the things the they look for Blood samples (ideally, in a fresh or dried condition) Tissue samples (same as above, only include frozen) Whole carcasses (same as the above, except we're rarely that lucky) Bones Hair Hides Furs Feathers leather goods (purses, shoes, boots...) Poisons Pesticides stomach contents (uh huh) Projectiles (bullets, arrows...)weapons (rifles, bows, traps....) Asian medicinals (rhino horn pills, tiger bone juice...) And pretty much anything else you might imagine that could have

come from (or been made from) an animal.

Sources U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Lab

-www.lab.fws.gov/students.php

Enotes.com: World of Forensic Science- www.enotes.com/forensic-science/wildlife-forensics

SimplyHired- www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-WILDLIFE+FORENSIC+SPECIALIST