Hunter grew up in South Florida, just north of Miami. He always had a fascination with animals since elementary school, grabbing all animal books he could find from the library. From an early age he knew he wanted to work with animals and through the years researched diverse ways to do so and found a passion for animal care. During college he did an internship at South Florida Wildlife Center working to help rehab all varied species of wildlife including squirrels, Muscovy ducks, and many different birds of prey. After this internship he did an internship at Maui Bird Conservation Center where he worked with endangered species native to the Hawaiian Islands including Alala, Akikiki, Akekeke, Maui parrotbill, Palila. After this he went back to South Florida and worked for 10 months at Miami Seaquarium as a seasonal keeper where he worked with the parrots and helped with rehab work for Manatees and Sea turtles.
Hunter started his NEI career as a seasonal keeper back in August of 2021 and became a full-time keeper in January of 2022. He feels lucky to have the chance to work with such an exceptional and experienced team and is excited to learn and continue to grow his skills to care for the variety of animals we have under our care. In his free time Hunter likes to play a variety of different computer games, hiking, and kayaking.
