The Wildlife Science Center in Minnesota is grieving the loss of one of its most devoted former staff members. Samantha Troff, a passionate wildlife rehabilitator and raptor specialist, was killed alongside her partner, Shelby Walker, in a motorcycle accident last week.
The two were young, deeply in love, and in the middle of building a life together centered around the things they cared about most. Their loss has left a wide and aching hole in the wildlife community across the Twin Cities region and beyond.
Sam, as nearly everyone called her, first walked through the doors of the Wildlife Science Center as an intern. She was working toward a degree in fisheries and wildlife through Oregon State University, completing her coursework entirely online while juggling a schedule that would exhaust most people twice her age.
She put in more than 40 hours a week at WSC without pay, picked up an additional 15 to 20 hours each week working as a farmhand, and still kept pace with her studies. She did all of this not because she had to, but because she wanted to. The animals were the reason. They were always the reason.
What made Sam stand out to the staff around her was not simply how hard she worked. It was how personally she took care of every creature in her charge. The wolves, the foxes, the raccoons, the birds — none of them felt like a job to her.
They felt like family. Colleagues noticed this early on. When someone cares that way, the quality of care rises to match it. The animals at WSC were better off because Sam Troff showed up every day and meant it.
A Life Shaped by Raptors
Over time, Sam discovered that birds held a special claim on her heart. She threw herself into the center’s Raptor program and became one of its most reliable and enthusiastic contributors.
When her internship wrapped up, the Wildlife Science Center offered her a paid position on their animal care team, a clear sign of how much she had grown into the role. She accepted, and for a time, WSC was where she built her skills and deepened her knowledge.
Eventually, her path led her to the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota and later to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, both prestigious stops for anyone serious about a career working with birds of prey. She was doing exactly what she had set out to do. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Through all of it, Shelby Walker was beside her. Friends and family described Shelby as Sam’s biggest supporter, her soulmate, her constant. Shelby was with Sam at the time of the accident. They were together until the very end.
The Wildlife Science Center described Sam as someone who spread her love for wild places like a fire. That fire touched everyone who crossed her path.
A joint celebration of life will be held on Friday, June 19th, 2026, from 4 to 9 p.m. at Irving and John Anderson County Park, 27201 Furman Street NE, North Branch, Minnesota. A service for Shelby will follow Saturday, June 20th. The public is welcome at both.
