Born in the nation’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur on 1st of July 1993, Dr Navaneetha Roopan grew up in the iconic holy town of Batu Caves in Gombak District, Selangor with his family consisting of his parents, an elder brother and a younger brother. Having the ambition to become a veterinarian as early as an 11-year old, he grew up watching Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and National Geographic. His favourite shows were Crocodile Hunter and Emergency Vets. After high school, he joined a private college to do his foundation studies in Science. Few months into it, he was offered to do a course titled ‘Foundation in Agricultural Science’ at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Without any second thoughts he left the private college to join one of Malaysia’s leading research universities. After his foundation degree, he pursued a career as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) through UPM. He has always had a passion for animals his entire life but since his training as a veterinarian, he found to be particularly interested in wildlife. This interest crystalized after a recent visit to South Africa where he has been fortunate enough to work on African wildlife. On his return to Malaysia, he decided to become a wildlife veterinarian, determined to work with the nation’s unique wildlife and he applied to the veterinarian position at DGFC where he has now been since December 2017. His special interests are in reptile medicine, veterinary pharmacology, veterinary pathology and veterinary parasitology subjects.