Factual Story

Travel Bugs and Tiger Cubs.

Jamie Wadey, 23, is set to leave his eco-friendly footprint as he prepares himself for his next big adventure.

The flutter of nerves and excitement builds within your stomach as the Chancellor extends a congratulatory hand and a photogenic smile. In an instant, the flash of a camera and the overwhelming applause reminds you that today you stand as a proud Graduand of the University of Queensland. A unique version of this day replays in the minds of countless Australians; however the black and blue gown of 23 year old Masters Graduate Jamie Wadey will remain on the hanger for now, as he prepares himself for what may be the journey of his life.

As a self-proclaimed documentary enthusiast and a conservationist at heart, Jamie began his tertiary education in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in both Zoology and Ecology. “There were quite a few field components within the degree which let me see a fair bit of central Queensland, like Idalia National Park. We also went to Fraser Island, Stradbroke Island, and Binna Burra because the degree mainly focused on Australian animals and habitats.” 

Upon completing his undergraduate studies in 2010 Jamie left Australia to travel abroad, spending four months in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. He concluded his trip with a visit to Thailand, which also lasted four months. During his time in Thailand, Jamie lived in a Buddhist Monastery in the country’s north-west. “[The Monastery] takes on wildlife and cares for it. If the mother of an animal has been killed or they been miss-treated, locals will pick them up and take them to the monks. While I was living there, I raised a litter of three tigers that were approximately three weeks old. They were no bigger than a lunch box, and for the first two months they required 24/7 care and attention. Every couple of hours I’d have to feed them from a bottle, so they slept with me in my bed to make it easier. It was great because if they were hungry they’d just wake up and bite me. They grew from five-hundred grams to about one-hundred kilograms in the four months that I was there. We had a good connection, and they always responded warmly to me, but by the time they were that size we didn’t sleep in the same bed. I’m excited to go back there in March, just to see if they remember me.”

In just a few short months, marking the completion of his Honours in Conservation Biology, Jamie is set to travel to Sumatra in the hopes of furthering his opportunity for international employment whilst undertaking research for his PhD. The Sumatran ecosystem has been the focus of Jamie’s thesis, comparing an active logging concession with an adjacent protected forest, and examining the habits of the Sumatran Tiger which roam freely between the sites. It is the first ever study that has assessed a population of Sumatran tigers in an active logging concession.

Jamie’s educational fervour has not always been encouraged though, with a secondary maths teacher questioning his potential to excel in more advanced learning. “I was told in grade 9 that it may be better for me to undertake a less intellectually demanding path.” Graduating with an OP 9, Jamie was eligible for enrolment in his preferred course, however since he did not study the prerequisites of Maths B and Chemistry, his first semester at university was devoted to studying a Bachelor of Arts. He chose to study Maths B, Maths C and Chemistry, receiving outstanding grades of 7, 6 and 6 respectively. “I feel like I probably would’ve learnt more had I studied the subjects in high-school. I would’ve had two years to get my head around them as opposed to six months, and I wouldn’t have had to pay for it. I’ve since seen that teacher, and I politely and politically informed them that the school needs to review their subject selection process and entry standards. Their tests aren’t the bottom line of where a student’s at mentally. I am a clear example.”

Whilst in Indonesia, Jamie hopes to spend some time learning the language in Jogjakarta. “I’m going to try and find a teaching school to learn the language, because I want to do a lot more study there. I was going to study Indonesian before I leave as I feel that it would definitely help break the barriers between governments and international researchers such as myself and aid in getting conservation policies in place. I’ve heard you can go to Jogjakarta and do a kind of ‘swap’ of languages, so they’d teach me Indonesian in exchange for me teaching them English. It would make it a lot easier to work there as well, which is another reason for me going to Indonesia. My thesis supervisor lives in Sumatra, so hopefully when we meet there he can land me a bit of field work.”

Jamie’s hopeful that he will be able to study his PhD whilst living in Sumatra. “If I’m able to stay, I definitely won’t be coming back…at least not for a while anyway. Who knows where it might lead.”