14 | THELAKER alumni spotlight Laurie Salzler ’80 has been rescuing Australian wildlife for more than a decade. e drop-o happened two days a er she completed training in wildlife care. Laurie Salzler ’80 had a red-necked, furless baby wallaby on her hands and no heating pad or other equipment. “So the poor thing spent the night inside my shirt until someone retrieved it the next morning. Needless to say, the experience was incredibly magical,” she said. Laurie became a volunteer for the Australian Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services a er moving to New South Wales in 2014. She learned to care for birds, sea turtles, koalas and macropods, a reference to marsupials like kangaroos and wallabies. Her interest in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation started at FLCC, where she majored in natural resources conservation. She also competed on the woodsmen – now logging sports – team and served as president of the Conservation Club. Laurie Salzler holds a red-tailed hawk in this 80s-era photo. She was working for a veterinarian who performed wildlife rehabilitation. “The red-tail had come in with a broken wing. We inserted a rod and kept her for several weeks. She bonded with me quite quickly and would scream if anyone came into the room while I had her out.” SALZLER DOWN UNDER
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