STUDENT EXPERIENCE: AUSTRALIA

Submitted by Vivian Lee, Cornell University

Vivian Lee (she/her) is a third-year veterinary student at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine interested in conservation medicine and aquatics!

"Imagine getting to work with stingrays up to 300 kg, dozens of penguins, and one of the rarest sea turtle species in the world. I am extremely grateful to say I was able to do that this winter break while doing an externship with The Aquarium Vet in Melbourne, Australia. The Aquarium Vet is an Australian-based company that is dedicated to advancing the health and welfare of aquatic animals in aquariums and zoos globally. They offer aquatic veterinary consultation services and are the creators of several online E-quarist courses and the E-lasmo virtual conference, in addition to a few other services offered.

I applied to this externship back in January 2021 when I was a first-year veterinary student during the COVID-19 pandemic and reserved my placement for January 2023, with high hopes that Australia’s borders would soon open again for international travel. The Aquarium Vet’s team is led by Dr. Rob Jones, a well-known shark expert, and has several other contracting veterinarians including Dr. Brett De Poister, who regularly provides veterinary services for SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium and whom I primarily worked with during my rotation. 

This was my first time traveling to Australia and first international veterinary experience, and I’m happy to say it was an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for years to come. While my rotation was only two weeks, every day was filled with exciting procedures and new things to learn. SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is home to Shipwreck Explorer, a 2.2 million litre oceanarium that has a wide array of sharks, stingrays, groupers, and more. As this exhibit is undergoing constribution in a few months, all of the animals currently in the exhibit will be transported to nearby aquariums and facilities. One of my primary tasks during the rotation was to assist with barb trimming procedures of the stingrays, some which were southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) that weighed up to 300 kg. I was mainly in charge of anesthestic monitoring, but also had the chance to draw blood from a spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) and work on my blood smear technique. 

One of the other cases I worked on was a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) that had a history of seizures and torticollosis that was previously being managed well. Due to a possible environmental trigger, the torticollosis returned and so I was able to observed how this was managed and help with re-check examinations. Certainly one of the greatest experiences I had was with one of their flatback sea turtles (Natator depressus), who needed an endoscopy procedure and my role involved intubating and monitoring anesthesia during this procedure. Other tasks involved doing necropsies on several fish and acclimating fish into a newly renovated exhibit.

As you can see, these two weeks were filled with many incredible clinical experiences! One of the main surprises I learned while living here was the work-life balance in Australia, which is much better than the United States. Every workday we had a mandatory coffee break, and all the employees were out of the aquarium by 3:45pm unless there was an emergency. It was really eye-opening to see how it impacted the quality of life for employees, and how much closer co-workers were to each other because of these simple lifestyle changes.

I was personally very happy with this balance, because I was able to go sightseeing on my days off. I went on two group tours, one of them being the Great Ocean Road Tour, where I witnessed Australia’s breathtaking coastline with pristine beaches, rainforests, and the 12 Apostles. On my last day off I did a two-island tour, first visiting French Island National Park, a hidden treasure of wilderness that has one of the largest populations of wild koalas. Afterwards, we headed to Phillip Island, where we spotted many wild wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, and of course, the iconic little blue penguins. Witnessing the daily Penguin Parade was one of the most incredible experiences, and I am so grateful that I was able to admire the native wildlife that Australia has to offer. 

Overall, this experience was extremely eye-opening and I learned a ton about international aquatic veterinary medicine. I would definitely go back to Australia in the future if I could, and highly recommend all veterinary students to take on an international experience if they can! I’d like to thank The Aquarium Vet for hosting me, especially Dr. Brett De Poister, and SAVMA’s International Veterinary Experience Committee (IVEC) who provided me substantial funding for this trip through their International Veterinary Experience Scholarship."

CUTEST PET

Submitted by Amelia Collins, University of Georgia

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

PHOTOGRAPHY

Submitted by Tuuli Overturf, Cornell University

"Friendly Meeting"

STUDENT EXPERIENCE: BELIZE

Submitted by Atalani Jackson, Tuskegee University

"In the spring of 2023, I got to fulfill my long-time goal of externing at the Belize Wildlife and Referral Center (BWRC). I had been following this wildlife center since 2015 and had always been inspired by its mission and work. Upon my arrival to a quiet and tropical town located outside the city of San Ignacio, I received a warm welcome from the staff. I would be working in a modest building with an enormous impact. This is the only wildlife clinic in the country- run by the only wildlife veterinarian in the country. The clinic saw both domestic animals and wildlife and it housed one of the only veterinary radiography machines in the city. 

Every day I would wake up to a choir of parakeets right outside my kitchen and had the opportunity to view a number of native parrots and toucans on my daily walk to the center. We would begin the day with feedings and treatments. And during my time there our patients included a variety of aquatic turtles, green iguanas, and a native opossum, falcon and fawn that all required care. In the afternoon we would carry out various husbandry activities and perform any lab work that needed to be completed.  We would commonly perform blood draws and manual white blood cell counts on hospitalized animals. This provided me with an opportunity to observe species differences in red and white blood cell morphology. In the late afternoon, we would perform procedures and see domestic animal referrals- which typically came in to receive radiographs. We would end the day with evening treatments and feedings.  

Working under Dr. Isabelle Paquet-Durand, I learned about native wildlife and the many issues they face, including illegal wildlife trafficking, poaching, human-wildlife conflict, habitat destruction, and the seasonal wildfires that plague the countryside. The center was very involved in the community through its various programs including its wildlife ambassador program. I was honored to be able to participate in their ambassador program and it was inspiring to see so many community members express interest in wildlife welfare and one-health issues. They also partnered with several local conservation nonprofits including a nearby green iguana conservation center that focused on the captive rearing of green iguanas with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. A few iguanas from the conservation center, as well as wild iguanas, were being treated at BWRC for abscesses and wounds they developed from fighting during mating season. And one of the most memorable moments during my time there was learning about and performing anesthesia on a green iguana during a successful abscess removal. In addition to this, I also had the opportunity to practice various methods of venipuncture in turtles and iguanas and bottle feed an orphaned red brocket fawn. 

Outside of community educational activities and clinical work, anytime there was downtime I was able to perform necropsies. I have a strong interest in pathology, and it was exciting to be able to fine-tune my necropsy technique while simultaneously learning about the various infectious diseases that were common in Belize wildlife. In addition to necropsies, I was also able to practice loading and shooting a blow dart. This method of chemical immobilization is commonly used to remove animals from unsafe environments or to safely capture injured wildlife that is difficult to capture otherwise. The clinic typically used it for the chemical immobilization of monkeys which are difficult to reach in trees. And finally, to top off my time there we were able to release a number of the clinic’s aquatic turtle patients back into the wild.

Overall, I am so glad I got to spend time at BWRC and immerse myself in the culture and history of the country. I was able to better understand the difficulties and joys that come with running an international non-profit focused on conservation medicine. It left me inspired and more determined than ever to pursue a career in this field."