Some days Keith Hudson spends his time crawling into caves counting gray bats. On other days he soars with flocks of birds, keeping careful track of their numbers while also keeping his light plane a safe distance from trees. Sometimes he is indoors, in front of a computer screen recording his findings. “Sixty percent of the time I'm outdoors,” says Hudson, a wildlife biologist who works on the state level at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “The other 40 percent of the time, I'm indoors. I prefer being outside.”

His love of the outdoors stems from childhood days hunting and camping with his father and uncles. Most weekends found them at a cabin close by a river in his native Alabama. He knew at a young age that he wanted to work with animals and to be outdoors as much as possible. “A lot of my work has evolved into endangered species work,” he explains. “I have a number of projects from taking bird and bat surveys, which involves netting them (catching them to count them) with mist nests, recording their numbers, releasing, and monitoring them. I've seen the bald eagle and white-tailed deer populations restored. Gray bats are on the endangered list. Many people don't understand bats, but they are starting to understand why conservation is so important.”

When working outdoors with wild animals, Hudson is on the animals' schedule. “Bats are nocturnal, so I take the surveys starting at dusk,” he says. “This isn't a nine-to-five job.”

He works with two other wildlife biologists in the nongame and endangered species division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He goes out with an assistant biologist. “I rarely go out in the field alone,” he says. “It's safer as a team.”

He notes that it would be nice having a larger unit. “The jobs are fairly scarce and the funding is low,” he explains. “There are other wildlife biologists who work on the federal level and in other state or privately run agencies. I'm seeing opportunities slowly change thanks to the hunters. Their role in conservation is huge. Hunting permits and licenses partially fund state agencies to improve and preserve the land on which game live and roam. Hunters provide a lot of feedback about an animal's habitat, food supply, and general welfare.

“Each state differs on the number of wildlife biologists that they employ,” says Hudson. “Even with state, federal, and private agencies, there aren't hundreds of jobs to be had, but wildlife conservation is a growing field. And if someone is interested, they should go for it. People go into this profession because of altruistic beliefs. They care about animals and the planet. And many of us ‘hope to save the world.’ I'm in this profession because I love nature, and because I want my children and grandchildren to experience the beauty of the outdoors.”

Not too many people in this field leave their jobs. Hudson has been doing this for twenty-plus years. He and others make a good living. “You won't get rich, but the rewards of improving the planet are priceless,” he says.

Wildlife biologists' salaries start at around $30,000 and can go up to $70,000 and higher — depending on where you live and the management level of the position. Most wildlife biologists hold master's degrees specializing in forestry, wildlife biology, or fisheries. Some have doctoral degrees.