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Kelly Diedring graduated from MU in 2001 with a bachelor’s
degree in fisheries and wildlife. Today, she is an animal
care specialist at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla. Photo courtesy
of Animal Planet
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She’s
‘King of the Jungle’
By Jason Jenkins
Once a cheerleader for the Missouri Tigers, Kelly Diedring's dream
job is to be a cheerleader for wildlife conservation and habitat
preservation around the world. A recent experience has made that
dream come true.
Diedring, a 2001 MU graduate in fisheries
and wildlife, recently won the Animal
Planet reality show, King of the Jungle, where 12
aspiring animal experts competed for the opportunity to host their
own wildlife special.
The show, which was hosted by the network’s
popular wildlife expert Jeff Corwin, was part "Survivor" and part
"Wild Kingdom," testing the competitors’ animal knowledge,
on-screen presence, physical ability and capability to work under
extreme pressure. At the end of each episode, a panel of expert
judges, including Nigel Marven, Stan Brock and Jim Boller, voted
out one contestant until only the "king" remained.
A native of St. Charles, Mo., Diedring learned
about the show through a friend who encouraged her to send in
an audition tape. "Since before I can even remember, I've always
wanted to work with animals," she said. "I pretty much knew I
wanted to work in a zoo right from the start, and the show seemed
like a great career opportunity."
Her path to her current position as an animal
care specialist at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., began at MU in
1998. She enrolled in the fisheries and wildlife program and began
taking classes in mammalogy, ecology and conservation biology.
In addition, she was a member of the MU cheerleading squad and
active with MU’s mascot conservation program, Tigers
for Tigers.
"A lot of my classes were geared more for
wildlife management than zoology, but folks like Charlie (Nilon),
Bill (Kurtz) and Laura (Hertel) were really supportive," Diedring
said. "They kept telling me I could do anything I wanted with
my degree, and they were right."
During her college experience, Diedring interned
with two zoos — the St. Louis Zoo in 1999 and Taronga Zoo
in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
"Both were unpaid positions, but they gave
me the reality check I needed," she said. "Working at a zoo isn’t
just playing with baby animals all day long. There’s a lot
of work, like cleaning up after them, that goes along with it.
But the experiences I had working with antelopes and other ungulates
in St. Louis, and koalas and kangaroos in Australia solidified
for me that working at a zoo was what I wanted to do for my career."
Diedring graduated from MU in Dec. 2001. After
spending a few months in Australia, she returned to the United
States and found a summer job at Busch Gardens working as a zoo
education counselor. When a full-time position as animal care
specialist opened, she applied for and was offered the position.
She now works with the bird and reptile collections at the park,
teaching classes and making public presentations about different
species, their natural history and their individual plights.
Through her work with the public at Busch
Gardens, Diedring said she learned that her passion for animals
also extended to educating people about conservation. It was this
passion for teaching that motivated her to audition for "King
of the Jungle."
The cast of Animal Planet’s King of the Jungle,
back row from left: Ed Rudberg, Jarrod Davis, Jamie Morrisey,
Kelly Diedring, Jennifer Benjamin, Mike Maxcy, Aletris Neils,
John Elmore and Jeremy Kirby; front row from left: Ernie
Ward, Christina Davis and Adam Stone. Photo courtesy of
Animal Planet
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During her time filming the show, Diedring
had the opportunity to work with a variety of exotic animals,
including elephants, tigers, alligators, chimps, baboons and an
ornery macaw. She said she has benefited from the experience in
many ways.
"The other contestants on the show were terrific,
and I’ve made some new friends," she said. "Because we weren’t
voting each other off the show, there wasn’t the same animosity
you see on other reality shows. Instead, we had the opportunity
to learn from each other and learn how other zoos operate."
Diedring said it also was an honor to work
with Corwin and the other judges. "We didn’t know who was
hosting the show until we got there, and I was so thrilled to
meet them. They’re doing what I want to do."
The judges offered their advice on what it
takes to host an animal show, she said. "They were all so helpful,"
Diedring said. "I learned from Nigel that you just have to be
yourself and that you have to relate to the audience. They want
to be there with you, but they can’t, so it’s your
job to portray how it feels to be there."
Learning how to "sneak" conservation messages
into a show was another skill Diedring honed on the show. "All
the judges emphasized that you can’t lecture about conservation
to an audience; you have to teach them without letting them know
they’re being taught. Otherwise, they’ll change the
channel. It killed me to hear that."
Diedring said the experience has only reinforced
her desire to educate about wildlife conservation issues. "This
is my life’s passion, and I want my passion to be contagious,
especially for children. The future of this world’s creatures
rests with them."
Animal Planet aired Diedring’s special
at 7 p.m., CST, Dec. 22, 2003.
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