The Best Subreddits for Wildlife Professionals

Reddit is a vast online community of topic-focused discussion boards, including nearly every conceivable topic. Each discussion forum is called a subreddit (often nicknamed “sub”), with a community and moderators focused on a specific topic. In this post, I’ll identify the best subreddits applicable to wildlife professionals and briefly describe the types of content each subreddit offers.

The Best Wildlife Subreddits

/r/wildlifebiology

This is the primary and most relevant subreddit for wildlife professionals. There are questions about research, careers, and general animal identification questions. In addition to professionals, students with questions about undergraduate and graduate studies in wildlife biology frequently post here.

/r/EndangeredSpecies

The endangered species subreddit focuses on the conservation of endangered species, including topics like climate change that can affect endangered species. Relevant conservation news articles on endangered species are also frequently posted and discussed.

/r/Ornithology

The ornithology subreddit focuses on the scientific study of wild birds, a frequent focus area for wildlife professionals. While bird identification posts are discouraged and redirected to r/whatsthisbird, several seem to slip through reasonably regularly. A fair number of “I found a baby bird, what should I do” posts dilute the scientific discussion. News articles related to bird science are also frequently posted.

/r/ecology

The ecology subreddit focuses on wildlife relationships with the environment but also includes discussions about life in academia, career questions, and relevant news articles. It’s a very general subreddit, with wildlife only being part of the focus.

/r/whatsthisbird

This subreddit is for posting pictures of birds that you need help identifying. You can also help others identify birds if that is your specialty. Identification requests include audio of songs and calls, photographs of eggs, feathers, or nests, and pictures of actual birds.

/r/wildliferehab

There are near-constant questions on other wildlife subreddits about what to do with injured or orphaned wildlife. This subreddit is dedicated to answering these questions with the goal of releasing the animals back into their native habitat. Many of the posts in this subreddit are graphic and sad to read, so this is something to keep in mind if you are easily emotionally disturbed.

/r/zoology

Like the ecology subreddit, this sub is generally focused on wild animals. Discussions in this subreddit mainly focus on wildlife animal populations, conservation, and relevant news articles. Career questions are also allowed, and the occasional post asks readers to identify something.

/r/usajobs

While not explicitly wildlife-related, the subreddit for USAjobs.gov can be a helpful information source on how to apply for federal jobs. Users in this subreddit post their federal employment experiences, questions about the job application process, or how to navigate getting a federal job. There is a fair amount of commiserating on this subreddit about the lengthy and arduous job application process, so be careful not to get sucked into the negativity. Regardless, this very active subreddit can be a good source of information for wildlife professionals interested in federal employment.

Everything Else

/r/wildlife

While intuitively, a subreddit titled “wildlife” would be at the top of my list, this community is not very active, and much of the discussion is unrelated to wildlife science or biology. This subreddit focuses on wildlife and conservation-related news, with some activism. It’s minimally active, with around ten posts/month.

/r/conservation

Topics in this subreddit focus on biodiversity conservation through animal and habitat protections. This is not a wildlife-focused subreddit but focuses on the conservation of ecosystems, which is relevant for wildlife professionals.

/r/environmental_science

This is a general environmental science subreddit with topics including careers, schooling, climate change, and research discussions.

/r/animalscience

This subreddit only has a few monthly posts and focuses on news and research on animal science. This subreddit focuses more on domestic animals, though some discussions about wild animals are included.

/r/Gardenwild

Although this subreddit doesn’t have a professional focus, I include it because many wildlife professionals enjoy having wildlife in their backyards and gardens accordingly. This subreddit focuses on adapting your backyard to encourage wildlife use and sharing photographs from other members’ backyards. You will occasionally see a post asking for identification help for unknown wildlife.

/r/birding

Many wildlife professionals are also avid birders in their personal lives. The birding subreddit discusses sightings, identifications, photographs from birding adventures, and general birding discussions.

The Bottom Line

Reddit is a fantastic way to get niche information across various topics, including wildlife biology. Hopefully, you’ll find these resources helpful in deciding what subreddits to subscribe to gain new insights on topics ranging from biology and careers to activism and conservation. If there’s a good wildlife professional-related subreddit you think I missed, please get in touch.