Michael grew up the son of a naval commander and ICU nurse. He lived in Slidell for 3 years and experienced his first memorable experience with wildlife at Global Wildlife in Folsom and the Audubon Zoo in kindergarten before being moved all over the US before his Father retired to become a teacher and settled in Texas.

Michael Birt graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. degree in wildlife and fisheries science after which he began working for the Fort Worth Zoo as a mammal keeper. He then left the zoo to pursue a M.S. degree in animal behavior and physiology. During this time he met his future wife Morganne Birt who was a fellow graduate student from Lake Charles Louisiana.  During the publishing process of his research he was hired at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas as a hoofstock animal care specialist; he quickly became the internship director, research liaison, and the first video marketing supervisor for Fossil Rim. After successfully publishing his research in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science and working at Fossil Rim for several years he moved to New Orleans to work for the Audubon Nature Institute to assist in starting up the hoofstock breeding program at the Audubon Species Survival Center in English Turn.

​The interest in STEM education began in 2009 after he finished a study abroad and summer  marine biology/terrestrial ecology internship with James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. 

​During his master’s he participated in a summer internship in South Africa. This experience really sparked the idea of ResearchWild! which started as a film project highlighting the lives and jobs of conservation professionals. In 2015 he and a partner started ResearchWild, Inc. ResearchWild has sent many students to Southern Africa for amazing wildlife conservation internships, has donated and supported its international hosts in ground breaking research,  and has made connections with 100s of universities, hosts, and wildlife professionals.

After COVID in 2022 He changed the trajectory of ResearchWild from a for profit focused on just being an amazing skill building international internship program to a non profit interested in creating a STEM  education pipeline from K to early career development, to spark and sustain interest in conservation sciences and all the interdisciplinary aspects of it. Also in 2022, he published his first Michael The Wildlife Detective book with Pelican Publishing, today there are 3 books in the series with a fourth one in development. In 2023, he started Village Life Coffee in partnership with Orleans Coffee Roasters in Kenner. In 2025, he created a partnership with Jefferson Parish for a Wildlife Detective Summer Camp for 7-12 year olds.