At the age of nineteen, I packed my suitcase and moved to Florida to work with big cats. Which sounds spontaneous, exciting and just a tiny bit crazy. In actual fact, it had taken months of planning, saving money and intensive research. The world is brimming with pseudo wildlife projects that harm conservation work under the guise of helping. I chose Big Cat Rescue because they are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries – meaning they do not buy, breed or sell animals, and there is a strict no-contact policy. The six months I spent there transformed my life. Being an intern at the sanctuary was by no means easy – we often worked 11 hour days, 6 days a week, outdoors in all weather conditions – but it was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Our work ranged from landscaping enclosures, feeding the cats, operant conditioning and enrichment to educating groups of 20+ people on the issue of private ownership of big cats in the USA. Working with such magnificent animals inspired me everyday and I kept a blog during my time there, which lead to a communications role with WWF’s tiger programme in Asia.