Diving below the surface with an aquatic veterinarian

The ocean covers roughly 70% of our planet, and its vastness often leaves more questions than answers. The same can be said for the animals that call the deep blue home.

Dr. Cara Field knows all about having more questions than answers — it’s sort of the backdrop of her profession as a veterinarian specializing in aquatic animal health.

Take an octopus, for example, there’s a lot we still don’t fully understand about the alien-like creature, especially how to care for them. “There are people that have dedicated their whole life to figuring out octopus life. So things like that, we have no idea, or we have just a teeny, tiny idea after 30 years of hardcore research,” Field told Marketplace.

Those questions help drive Field’s work as director of conservation medicine at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California.

“I see that and I think a lot of my amazing colleagues see that as a challenge and a call to learn more and try to answer some of these questions and help these animals out,” Field said.

For more on what the career of a veterinarian specializing in aquatic animal health is like, click the audio player above.