The 2023 Mary Wilson Scholar Program is a five-week full time internship designed for a “local Black, indigenous, or person of color (BIPOC) college student with a passion for animals and an interest in zoo keeping.”Ī post shared by Maryland Zoo in Baltimore intern will be trained in “basic husbandry and animal care” in addition to assisting with paid animal experiences for guests. Now her home zoo is paying homage to that legacy, announcing a new paid internship in her honor with the hopes of attracting more diversity in the field, CBS Baltimore reports. Wilson would go on to pass away the following day at the age of 83, leaving behind a robust legacy in a field where Black women were still heavily underrepresented. ![]() When Wilson contracted the coronavirus in 2020 and laid in a hospital bed unresponsive for two weeks, it was the memory of her time caring for a sick elephant overnight that her daughter Sharron Wilson Jackson reminded her of, that brought the last signs of life she would ever see. She became especially fond of gorillas and elephants, eventually making history as the first Black senior zookeeper at The Maryland Zoo.Īt the zoo is where she served for nearly four decades, training up other young zookeepers and building lifelong bonds with her animal friends. Although she had virtually no professional experience, Wilson had a lot of heart and passion for the animals, bypassing the normal profession for women in zoos like birds and other nursery animals and heading straight for the larger species in the Mammal House. ![]() Wilson was a Baltimore native who got her start working at The Maryland Zoo in 1961 when she was just 21-years-old.
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