Ruth Freemon joined The Wilds staff as the Wildlife Ecology Associate in June 2021. She assists Genelle Uhrig, Director of Wildlife Ecology, with the eastern hellbender and American burying beetle conservation programs, laboratory analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples, training apprentices, and continuing numerous other wildlife research projects.  

First introduced to hellbenders during her 2015 undergraduate summer research in her home state of Tennessee, Ruth has continued to foster her love for these mysterious animals ever since. Following graduation from Lee University in 2017 with her Bachelor of Science in Biological Science, Ruth worked at the Oglebay Good Zoo in Wheeling, WV as a Conservation Biology Apprentice, where she cared for the hellbenders in the zoo’s head-start program.

She then attended graduate school at West Liberty University, completing her master’s degree in Biology in 2020. Ruth’s master’s research focused on eastern hellbender populations in West Virginia and included physical surveys, eDNA collection and analysis, disease presence evaluation, and the construction and implementation of concrete nest boxes to supplement natural habitat.

Ruth is thrilled to continue her work with hellbenders at The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio, to help strengthen our conservation partnerships with neighboring states and agencies. Ruth said, “I had the opportunity to work with members of The Wilds’ Ecology department during my master’s research, so it’s exciting for me to now be on this side of the relationship.”