ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s Women’s History Month and right in Central Florida's backyard a group of women is making waves in a field historically dominated by men.

​At SeaWorld Orlando they have a rare all-female veterinary team that claims tides are changing across the industry.

Starting her day checking on Hurley the dolphin, veterinarian Dr. Lydia Staggs still pinches herself when she gets to work.

“Best job in the world,” she said. “It is the best job in the world and I can not think of anything else I would rather do.”

Staggs is one of the veterinarians at SeaWorld Orlando and is responsible for taking care of the hundreds of animals that call it home.

“We look for things like pneumonia with ultrasound and so they do it voluntarily, so it’s an easy way to scan,” said Staggs, as she scanned Hurley’s lungs. 

But what makes SeaWorld's veterinary team stand out is that it is made up of solely of women, with four veterinarians, one resident, six vet techs and seven medical technicians.

“It is pretty unique and I am very proud that we have that here at SeaWorld we all get along, we all have our strengths and weaknesses but we counterbalance each other and so it is great when all of us are together and we bounce ideas of of each other,” said Staggs. 

Studies show there has been a major shift in the veterinary world as women flock to, and thrive in, what once was a male-dominated profession. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, male enrollment in U.S. veterinary colleges decreased from 89% in 1970 to 22.9% in 2009.

“When I went to vet school it was about 70% women in the field and now it is about 90% women in the field which is awesome,” said Staggs. 

Nearby, Stagg’s colleagues Dr. Dana Lindemann and Dr. Claire Erlacher-Reid work on assessing a manatee who was rescued from a waterway affected by red tide.

“We are going to try to get her spine incorporated into this one,” said Lindemann, checking the animal's radiograph.   

The pair say they have noticed the same trend in veterinary medicine.

“I’d say men are more a minority right now," Lindemann said. "I think in my veterinary class there were eight or nine men, and so it has definitely shifted over the last several decades."

“There were actually about five guys in my graduating class, so yeah it is fun," Erlacher-Reid said in agreement.  "It is definitely a sisterhood in the profession in general — not only do we have a great job here too, but in the veterinary profession overall I have lots of great women in my life." 

They say it is exciting to see more women pursing veterinary medicine, as they all wanted to be vets as kids but didn’t have many role models to look up to.

“When I first started investigating a career in veterinary medicine, it was very male dominated even in SeaWorld," Erlacher-Reid said. "I remember meeting some of the veterinarians for the first time and they were all males."

Members of SeaWorld Orlando's team say they hope that when little girls visit the park that they see strong, intelligent women working together and making scientific advances, leaving the door open for the next generation to walk though.

“I hope that they see themselves represented when they see us working on the animals and think to themselves, 'That is something that I can do one day,'” said Erlacher-Reid.

“They can be doctors, they can be scientists, they can be astronauts if they want to,” Staggs added in agreement.