By Of all students, anthrozoology majors resisted the urge to pet the bears and bison.
On April 3 and 4, freshman anthrozoology students struck out to visit the Billings Women’s Prison, the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, and the Billings Zoo. The anthrozoology sophomores went to Yellowstone to watch the wolves.
For several years, the anthrozoology department has been taking its students on these trips, each one different from the last.
“Seeing students get all excited about seeing things they’ve never seen in their lives,” said Marie Suthers, D.V.M, when asked what her favorite part was.
While both experiences involved animals, they were unique in their own ways. At the women’s prison, students learned about the prison paws program, which sends dogs to the prison for training, boarding, or daycare. At the zoo, they learned the different reasons animals end up at zoos and how these animals are kept happy. Then, at the equine center, they learned and saw how troubled youth work with the horses to learn about themselves.
“I enjoyed drawing the connections of prison paws and the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Equine Center,” said freshman Kate Krawchik, a psychology major and anthrozoology minor from Seattle.
During the trip to Yellowstone, students learned about the wolves of Yellowstone – especially all the family drama in the packs. They also came very close to petting a bison.
“I think it was a great experience to get to see four completely different environments of people and animals, not to mention a good way to see more of what we can do with our degree,” said junior Miriam Tangen, an anthrozoology major from Bonney Lake, Washington.
