Student Experiences: Elephant Nature Park

Submitted by Meghan Togher, Royal Veterinary College

Elephant abuse is a huge problem in Thailand’s tourist trade. Elephants are used for logging, trekking, elephant back riding and circus entertainment. Behind the scenes of such activities, the elephants are stolen from their mothers at a young age, brutally beaten, tamed with sharp objects and often worked to death. 

 

I have always been passionate about putting an end to the damaging abuse of wildlife. In order to educate myself more on the plight of Asian Elephants in Thailand I travelled to Chiang Mai visit the Elephant Nature Park. The park rescues and rehabilitates elephants that have previously been used inappropriately and offers them an oasis where they can live their remaining years peacefully, naturally and unchained. I was greatly inspired by Lek, the lady who founded this incredible safe haven. Particularly, her work ethic, passion and commitment to improving the welfare of elephants that have been mistreated in Thailand. 

The project I was involved in, nicknamed ‘Journey to Freedom’, entailed observation of rescued elephants in their natural habitat, feeding them an appropriate diet and consistent monitoring of their behaviour to aid research. I found it fascinating to see such large creatures up close and personal, and to be able to interact with them was breath-taking. Each elephant’s relationship with their mahouts, one person who trails them to ensure their safety, was incredible to see and I was thoroughly impressed with how the elephants lived a far more natural life, in harmony with people who treated them with respect and love.

 

I learned a lot that trip, not only about the behaviour of elephants in the wild, but also about how humans can contribute to the destruction of these fantastic beasts. Although it was amazing to have the elephants voluntarily come up to me, I recognise they were only that friendly as a result of their previous trauma from being ‘broken’ for tourist entertainment. This reminded me of the importance of how treating wild animals as wild, particularly during exotic vetting, is essential to the animal’s wellbeing and recovery. I was able to take away key information learned at the sanctuary to spread to my peers, such as to not ride elephants, which will hopefully lead to a decrease in the use of elephants in the tourist trade. 

 

Although I still have a lot to learn in my future career as a zoo or exotics vet, I want to be mindful of my own interference with wild animals. I want to get involved only when necessary for the animal’s wellbeing and health and advise others to do the same. I want to discourage animal tourism, which hopefully will prevent future wild animal usage in the tourist trade. I realise that knowledge is power, and I hope to continue to educate myself and others on how best to be involved with wild animals.

Belize Zoo Externship

Stacie Munden, Ross University

Normally during Christmas time people think of lights and Christmas trees and presents. For me, this is not what I had in mind. I spent a week of my Christmas break at the Belize Zoo learning about anesthesia, ultrasound, and treatments for animals I had never seen before. The Belize Zoo houses all different animals including tapirs, spider monkeys, crocodiles, ornate hawk eagles, jaguarundis, jaguars, peccaries, harpy eagles, as well as many, many more. The zoo allows students and veterinarians to come help perform physical exams, diagnoses, preventative medicine, and treat injuries. This is exactly what five of my colleagues and I did for our Christmas break.

On our first day at the zoo we got to go on a tour of the zoo and were shown the on-site clinic. We spent that morning getting acquainted with the supplies and drugs that the clinic had. We were tasked with organizing all the drugs in similar groups using Plumb’s which was a great review of pharmacology and to prepare us for the upcoming week. After organizing the drugs that afternoon we anesthetized a howler monkey to perform a physical exam, ultrasound for pregnancy, and treat her mastitis. The veterinarian overseeing us let us take charge of the anesthesia by splitting up the tasks amongst us so we were all able to take part. This experience solidified what I had learned in my anesthesiology class.

The second day was just as amazing as the first, if not more. We started the day by anesthetizing a jaguar! Once again we were responsible for the anesthesia with the guidance of the veterinarian. We drew blood and did a physical exam to check old injuries. Our next patient was the cutest little four-eyed opossum. They do not actually have four eyes, but white eyebrows which can look like two extra eyes in the dark. We did another physical exam, blood draw, and sexed him, determining that he was indeed a male. The zoo then let us name him which we decided to bestow upon him the name of Bernardo, a fitting name for an opossum. Our next task was performing radiographs on an ornate hawk eagle that was unable to fully extend his wing. They are one of my favorite birds at the zoo along with the harpy eagle. I got to help position him for radiographs, but the images had to be sent off for processing so we were not able to see the results. Our next two patients were crocodiles where we drew blood, did physical exams, and replaced a bandage on the tail of one of the crocodiles. For each of the animals we took blood from, we determined the PCV, TP, and looked at blood smears under the microscope.

On the third day two peccaries were sedated to be moved, so we performed another physical exam and drew blood. This was amazing because I had to draw blood from the peccary and was unsure of where to draw blood from, so I found a vein on the leg and got blood on my first try which impressed my colleagues. The third peccary that was sedated was brought into the clinic where we performed an ultrasound guided cystocentesis with the help of my friend who wants to become boarded in diagnostic imaging. The next chapter of the day was full of tapirs! I had never heard of a tapir before this and our job was to anesthetize two tapirs and administer parasiticide in addition to the physical exam and bloodwork. The tapirs look like a mix of a horse and rhino with a long nose but have a goofy personality. They quickly became one of our favorite animals at the zoo.

Thursday and Saturday were our days off from the zoo where we went to Xunantunique and the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave. Xunantunique is a Mayan archeological site. We walked around the ruins and our tour guide told us about the history. We also stopped at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel where the owner of this hotel has created the Green Iguana Conservation Project to reduce the decline of green iguanas. We got to see where the green iguanas are housed before being released. On Saturday we went spelunking through the “ATM” cave. I did not know what all this entailed, but this was by far the most amazing cave I have ever seen. This adventure started by swimming across a river and hiking down a trail to the entrance. The entrance to the cave is actually a river that comes out of the cave. We had to swim into the cave and through a narrow spot before walking/swimming about a half mile into the cave. At the end of the cave was an ancient sacrificial site with artifacts lying on the cave floor.

Friday was our last day at the zoo which we spent doing physical exams and bloodwork on the birds. I got to draw blood from a Harpy eagle and scarlet macaw! The harpy eagle is a large bird of prey with huge talons that were the size of my hand! We also did physical exams on the ornate hawk-eagles at the zoo. We ended the day learning how to load and shoot blow darts at a target which I could still use some more practice. This was by far the most amazing experience I’ve had thus far and I’ve gained so much experience that will be beneficial for me to use for not only exotic species of animals but our domesticated pets too. I hope to go back someday and would recommend this experience to anyone!

World Vets - Nicaragua

Carinne Ramirez, Lincoln Memorial University

During my second year in veterinary school, I had the opportunity to participate in World Vets in Nicaragua.  I initially decided to go in order to prepare myself for third year surgeries; but after my first day I knew this experience would be so much more than that.  

I had never been to Nicaragua or participated in World vets.  After the first few days, I was shocked at all the limitations the clinic had and the lack of money locals had for their animals despite how much they depended on them for their livelihood.  I learned how to monitor and administer total intravenous anesthesia because isoflurane was too expensive and too hard to keep supplied in the clinic. We used headlamps to see during surgery and made the best out of what we had.   

The clinic had no central air system, and in the summer of Nicaragua doing surgery with cap and mask made surgery difficult.  Many volunteer veterinarians brought checked bags to supply the clinic with needed supplies that could not be bought. It was a group effort to keep the clinic going; but it was much needed in the community.  Locals brought their pets to be spayed and neutered for free and we as students got surgery experience; but I gained so much more than experience. I gained a perspective that would forever change how I would practice veterinary medicine. 

So many people have horses that pull their carts to the market, and the money they bring in feeds their family.  These animals mean everything to them yet their income is so low they often do not have the resources to properly care for their animals.  They care so much for these animals that many would have their animals vaccinated before their children. I saw many horses with overgrown hooves and sores from pulling carts and most were underweight.  From an outsider perspective these animals appear abused and neglected, but these animals are so loved. I couldn’t believe how thankful the locals were when we had an outreach day that offered medical care and vaccinations for their animals.  It was a full day for us, and I felt so accomplished at the end of the day. We were able to provide necessary medical care for so many animals and in turn helped the welfare of not just the animals, but their owners as well. The experience was invaluable for me and gave me a new perspective I would take with me throughout the rest of my schooling and I will keep with me when I start my career next year.

Outreach and education are two very important characteristics I want to embody as a veterinarian.  Education on how to properly care for animals as well as information on what producers and owners can do to better animal welfare can only be obtained through working with those educated in the field.  In most cases, that person happens to be their veterinarian. As a soon to be mixed animal practitioner, I plan on holding seminars for producers to help them become better at their job and fulfilling the oath I took to promote animal health and welfare and relive animal suffering.  Nicaragua allowed me to see the oath I took in real world situations and gave me a clarity on the kind of practice I would go into. I will strive to continue to go to underserved areas and use my talents and the education I have received to serve both the community and the animals through public education.  Just like the veterinarians who worked hard to give me this experience, I want to volunteer my time to give students like me a new perspective and outlook on animal welfare in underserved areas.

South African Externship Experience

Did you know that wild dogs are such an endangered species that there are only 4 packs left in Africa, one of which is in the Kruger National Park area? I did not know this until I had the life changing experience of completing an externship in Limpopo, South Africa in August. As a DVM student, I feel that it’s vital to get the most out of your time in school, and that includes taking advantage of externships or any veterinary opportunity to learn more veterinary medicine over breaks. Here at Ross, we have 3 short breaks per year, and I decided to make the most out of my 2 week August break by experiencing the wild side of vet med in South Africa.

The biggest thing I learned is that South Africans truly care about preserving species and giving to conservation efforts. One way this showed is through the immense amount of game farms that are around the area. Driving just a few miles down the road, you’ll pass a nice handful of them. Game farm owners are able to preserve the species they have on their farm, and we got to see an amazing example of this when we visited a rhino farm to place an external fixator on the fractured limb of a white rhino. The owner was extremely passionate about saving that rhino and wanted to do all he could to preserve the species in general.

There were plenty of opportunities to see some amazing species being worked on as we followed a game veterinarian around for 2 weeks! We had chances to help capture big game such as different species of antelope (Nyala, Kudu, water buck, Roan antelope, etc.). Seven different species of antelope is what we got to see total! We also were able to witness lion relocations to different game farms and even watched TB tests be performed on animals at an animal rehabilitation center.

Besides working with amazing animals, we also got to learn how to use a dart gun from a helicopter! It was exciting to learn how dart guns are used to sedate large game animals that you have a hard time getting close to and to be able to physically shoot one (at a stationery target, of course, not an actual animal)!  We also were able to visit Kruger National Park and learn about the immense lengths they go to to protect all of their species there. The cheetah population in South Africa is increasing overall, and it was great to see that their conservations efforts were paying off. They are working hard to increase the wild dog population, since one of the packs resides in the Kruger area, but it is difficult because so many different factors play into their population decline that it is not a quick fix.

Over the 2 weeks I was in South Africa, I had the chance to see many different sides of veterinary medicine and apply my knowledge in areas such as anesthesia, pharmacology, and bacteriology. My favorite part of the trip though was the conservation medicine side of it. Being able to witness firsthand the love and passion veterinarians and people there will go to to help save animals is inspiring. This experience gave me a new outlook on the conservation side of veterinary medicine, and I hope to be able to work in that aspect of veterinary medicine in the future.

Submitted by Catharine Vaughan from Ross University

IVSA Group Exchange

Eleven Danish veterinary students from the University of Copenhagen visited the University of Florida CVM this past November as part of an International Veterinary Students' Association (IVSA) exchange trip. The UF students will be visiting Copenhagen this May. The IVSA is an international association of which SAVMA is a member. While the US is an active participant in the IVSA meetings, this is only the second group exchange to take place in the US. During the exchange in Florida, students went to St. Augustine Beach, took a behind the scenes tour at SeaWorld, went alligator "hunting" along Gainesville's nature trails, toured the UF College of Veterinary Medicine and a local animal shelter, visited a brewery, and ate plenty of barbecue at American parties. The American students are looking forward to visiting Copenhagen in May.