A Chinese woman with a postgraduate degree from the University of Cambridge left a prestigious job at a biopharmaceutical company to work at the Shanghai Zoo. The 25-year-old from Jiangsu province claimed that her new job allows her to live a more active lifestyle and provides her with valuable experience.
According to reports, the researcher's average monthly income at her employer was around 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), while she earns roughly half that amount at the zoo. She told the South China Morning Post that she has no remorse about her pay cut. Working at the zoo allows her to see animals up close, which helps her studies on animal food and disease treatment.
"Animals have many magical behaviours, which unfold in front of me through day-to-day interactions," she shared with the site. She also remarked that her employment at the zoo has made her "healthier" because she enjoys an active lifestyle and is no longer limited to an office environment.
The researcher has been working full-time at the zoo since February of last year, caring for elephants, hippos, monkeys, tigers, and red pandas. She currently cares for deer and goats. Ma Ya stated that animals continue to surprise her with their behaviour.
She gave an example of an experiment in which researchers studied a red panda to determine which paw it would use to grab food from a box. Instead, the animal frightened them with its mouth.
Ma Ya shared her motivation for working at the zoo, saying, "Aside from feeding the animals, I get to conduct extensive studies on animal nutrition and disease treatment. I also want to improve my practical veterinary skills and supplement the theoretical knowledge I learned during my education."
On the other side, she stated that the animals at the zoo had taught her valuable lessons about relating with them while respecting their wild nature and instincts. Ma's parents have been supportive of her professional choices.
Ma Ya holds a bachelor's degree in biological science from Imperial College London and a master's in veterinary science from Cambridge.
