When she was a kid, Danielle Belleny “was always outdoors, playing with plants and investigating the world on my own.” “I wanted to be a veterinarian (兽医), at first,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to work with animals, and as a kid that was the only job I knew where you could do that.”

But when Belleny reached her second year of college, her dad mentioned wildlife biology (生物学) a another choice. She hadn’t yet heard of it before, but that’s what she was learning about. While in college, Belleny started working on research projects. She spent a lot of time with animals in their natural environment. On one project, she studied the plants that animals eat. Another is about placing trackers on a bird called the northern bobwhite.

Belleny’s current job is at Plateau Land & Wildlife Management, in Hays County, Texas. “In the morning, I’m usually out the door by sunrise,” she says. She studies birds. She keeps track of different animals. And she searches for signs of what other animals in the area are doing. “I love that there’s always a sense of discovery. It allows me to keep learning,” she says.

Around lunchtime, she’ll return home and write up a report. In the afternoon, she leaves for another site visit. Landowners can request her services. She advises people on how to accommodate the wildlife that lives on their land. “It’s a lot of meeting new people, a lot of quick introductions, and then talking for long periods of time.” That’s all her work for a day.

Outside of work, Belleny has been bird-watching, for seven years. Her first book, This Is a Book for People Who Love Birds, was published in May. It allowed her to share her love of the activity. Now she’s working on a children’s book about bird-watching. It’s scheduled to come out in fall 2023.

Belleny has some advice for young people who are thinking about professional goals. “Try everything you’re interested in.” And if you’re interested in working with animals, “Go to a library and find some field guides.” There’s a lot of information about animals out there. Books are always a good place to start.

Characteristics of an excellent scientist

The dictionary not only defines a scientist as a person having professional knowledge on ode of more sciences, especially natural science or physical science【小题1】Let’s look at some characteristics of an excellent scientist.

Curiosity

An excellent scientist must be very curious about things. Scientists such as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse discovered things mainly because they wanted to know how things work. 【小题2】

Patience

Becoming a scientist takes, a long time, 【小题3】Even if you think you have received some education on science, you still have a lot of scientific research to do. If you’re an instant-gratification type of person, this may not be the best choice for you.

Ethical (道德的) qualities

In order to truly discover and use knowledge for the greater good, a scientist must have a desire to improve people’s life as well as the environment, since they are linked and they can affect one another in the long run. 【小题4】holding to an old belief contradicted with evidence is dishonest. However, that belief shouldn’t be changed without powerful evidence.

Working habits

【小题5】 He/She can work well alone or in groups, depending on what’s needed and also needs to communicate thoughts on paper and verbally. Networking connects him/her with colleagues working on similar projects where he/she may discover something pew.