Zoologist/ Wildlife Ecologist/ Conservationist?

I want to be a vet pretty much for sure, however I want to have a back up plan in case I don't get into vet school, or I decide it's not for me. Now If I was able to work with animals in the wild I would want to work with penguins, puffins, seals(sea lion, harp, and harbor), sea otter or river otter, whales specifically orcas, and then parrots, monkeys, and marsupials that live in Australia. Now It would be easy to stay in the states and work with otters, seals, whales, and puffins, however not so easy when it comes to penguins, parrots, monkeys, and marsupials. My question is how am I able to live in the states and do research on the animals that I want? If you can do that in a lab, how so? Also, which of these careers are the best to fit my interests?