empress-penguin:

Well, there’s this… ;D

Speculating about the brothers’ college years is interesting, because we have more information about what the real-life Kratts did during that time.  I generally accept those experiences as canon except where they conflict with the existing canon (I’ve tweaked the details slightly so that it makes sense for their present-day selves to be creature adventuring WK-style rather than creating educational wildlife programs).

So we have Martin at Duke University (which should effectively quash the ridiculous notion that he’s not exceptionally smart, or that he didn’t do well in school) and Chris attending Carleton College, a small liberal-arts school in Minnesota.  Both knew that they wanted to do something to promote wildlife conservation, but they started off with some different ideas for how to go about it.  Martin initially planned to be a conservation veterinarian, with a focus on reproduction among endangered species, while Chris had some interest in conservation policy and advocacy.  Eventually, however, both brothers came to feel that they could have a greater impact by learning about endangered and threatened species in a more in-depth way than had been done before, then using that knowledge both to find new ways to help them survive and to educate and inspire others.  This career path also had the advantage of providing sufficient scope for their boundless energy and curiosity, as well as allowing them to forge amazing connections with the creatures that they love so much.

After graduating with a degree in zoology, Martin took a job as an assistant to one of his professors, who was conducting a research study in Costa Rica.  He decided to stay for a few months and do some creature studies of his own after the project was completed, and Chris, perhaps surprising himself more than anyone, decided to take the fall semester off and join him.  

It was during the Arribada, amid those long hours of waiting on the beach for the turtles to arrive, that the idea began to take shape. You know… we could do this.  You and me.  Travel around and study different animals, really get into their world… learn what it’s like to really BE the creature. … We could get a whole new level of understanding. … We could figure out how to really help them. … And if people understand more about them, they’ll want to help them, too…  

Chris went back to school with renewed enthusiasm and determination.  He’d always had the desire to learn everything he could about animals and their habitats, but now that he had a definite vision, it all seemed more real.  He founded an on-campus organization for biodiversity to bring together like-minded students and start spreading awareness, and took every opportunity to get out in the field.  He was even able to join Martin on two more of his research trips – trips that they’d both started to think of as apprenticeships for when they would be out conducting research of their own.  Martin, meanwhile, could not wait for Chris to graduate so they could get started.  It felt just like when he was 6 or 7 and begging his mom to let Chris come exploring with him, only to be told that he was still a little too young.  Finally, the day came, and Chris’s “graduation present” to them both was a fellowship that provided promising graduates with funding for a year of independent foreign research and travel.  The brothers headed to Peru… then Brazil… then Australia.  They were on their way!

And here are a few little tidbits that are purely my own invention:

1. The decision to go to a school five hundred miles away from home was more difficult for Martin than he let on.  He wasn’t particularly nervous about being on his own – in fact, he viewed college as an exciting new adventure – but he’d always been close to his family, and he knew he would miss them.  And then there was Chris, of course.  He knew his brother would be all right – he had friends, family, sports, and other things to help see him through – but he couldn’t help but feel as though he were abandoning him.  In the end, though, he felt that it was the right place for him, and that he owed it to both of them to get the absolute best creature education he could, and so off he went (vowing to call home often).

Chris, being only 14, was less sure that he would be fine, but it turned out to be true, and the realization provided a valuable boost to his confidence.  And as much as he loved and looked up to his brother, he also found that it was easier to carve out his own identity – something that had been a bit of a struggle for him – with him slightly removed from the picture.  That same desire later influenced his choice to attend a small northern college rather than a large southern university, but not his course of study – their shared passion for creatures was something that he cherished, and he never considered studying anything else.

2. Sometime during his sophomore or junior year, Martin bought himself a beat-up little blue hatchback for a couple hundred dollars.  It only worked about every other week, but when it was running, he’d use it to give his friends rides or to go out hiking or exploring, and also for the occasional trip home over a holiday weekend or semester break.  The car made some of his family members a little nervous, especially on those long drives, but somehow Martin always made it in one piece.  Asked about it now, Chris just shakes his head.  “That car ran on pure optimism,” he says, laughing.  He can’t deny, though, that some of the auto repair skills his brother learned from that old bucket of bolts have come in pretty handy during their field work, especially in the pre-Tortuga days.

3. Chris had an absolutely terrible roommate his freshman year, but he didn’t really tell Martin about it until much later, partly because he didn’t want him to worry, and partly because he couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that Martin might drive up there and take him out.  Big brothers can be unpredictable like that.  XD