Michaela Hepp Email & Phone Number

Animal Behavior/ Handling/ Care: In college I created a petition that would convince the study abroad program to allow me earn course credits for having an independent internship in South Africa where I would film animals and create a documentary. While there I had the opportunity to become certified in marine mammal recovery and response for stranded and beached sea life. I was also able to observe the behaviors of multiple species while filming using the knowledge that I had gained in the classroom.Starting my first paid animal care job at Medieval Times, I was able to apply animal behavior techniques that I was learning in college, at my place of work. I earned the opportunity to participate in the training of the company's horses while performing my duties as a stable hand and I even got to be a part of the show. While in the show I worked with the horses on the ground and on horseback. While doing my daily duties as a stable hand I provided medicinal, dietary, and sanitary care of all the geldings and stallions.Currently I work at The Maryland Zoo where I cater to the nutritional needs of the animals in our care. This includes following dietary guidelines approved by the veterinary staff and breeding invertebrates for animal consumption.Film and Media Production:As stated above, I went to South Africa where I filmed many animal species and created a documentary. This is my first documentary and it was entirely self produced. While it was very short, it was selected to participate in multiple film festivals and even won the short documentary category in one of them.I am currently working on a new filming project and producing content on multiple media platforms to keep my skills in editing and filming fresh.