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Most of us spend at least a year and sometimes as many as five training in zoo and wildlife (zoological) medicine, and that's after four years of college and four years of veterinary school.

Getting into veterinary school is the first hurdle.  Worlwide, there are dozens of vet schools, compared to thousands of medical schools.  Each accepts only so many budding veterinarians each year.  It takes more than a love of animals to get to this stage.  By the time they begin their veterinary studies, most students have already worked in domestic animal private practice--often volunteering to gain experience.  They've studied hard at a college or university and passed prerequisite courses in biology, math, and chemistry.  

Once in vet school, there are relatively few opportunities to work with wild animals.  Students interested in zoo and wildlife medicine compete for workshops, special rotations, and summer training programs that offer the experience of working with wild animals.

Veterinary degree in hand, some of us go on to post-doctoral training in zoological medicine, roughly equivalent to human medical residencies. Most are intensive two- to three-year programs that combine further academic training with clinical experience and applied research. In any given year, there may be no more than a dozen such opportunities worldwide, and the course of study tends to be intense and difficult.

It’s for this reason that our field remains small. It’s also why those of us who succeed in acquiring specialized training tend to be highly-driven professionals who work more than they play.