CREATIVE CORNER

Submitted by Lisette Coll-Roman, University of Florida

CAPTION CONTEST

Picture submitted by Angelle Danos, Louisiana State University

Caption submitted by Victoria Hoaglin, Oklahoma State University

"Oh deer, I hope you're fawn-ed of puns!"

STUDENT EXPERIENCE: HAWAII

Sofia A Zayas Randel, University of Pennsylvania

 "In January 2023, I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii to participate in an externship at the Hawaii Wildlife Center. My first week I took as vacation to explore the island and learn more about the culture of Hawaii. I visited volcanoes, saw petroglyphs, was on top of the world at Mauna Loa, walked on black sand beaches and lava fields, visited waterfalls and lava tubes, swam with the fish, and learned to surf. Each new adventure brought me to feel a closer connection to nature. I had revelations not only of the external world but also of my interior as the island humbled me and made me reflect about how we are all interconnected and the role I play in the world. 

Everyone on the island was incredibly friendly and treated me as if I were a local. They would share with me their stories, recommendations of places to visit on the island, and even food (from pizza to backyard picked oranges). I learned a lot about the history of the island and discovered that my own Puerto Rican heritage was interconnected with Hawaii’s history. In the early 1900s, Puerto Ricans traveled to Hawaii to work at the sugar cane plantations as they were promised a decent salary and living accommodations. Many Puerto Ricans emigrated to the island, and the influence that my culture has had in Hawaii’s is evident by the signs of food vendors selling arroz con gandules, lechón, and pasteles; Puerto Rican flag stickers on some of the cars, and my own native coquí filling up the night with its sweet songs. I even met a Puerto Rican woman who worked at a goat farm, and she was so overjoyed when she discovered I was Puerto Rican and we began speaking in English. From that conversation I got free samples of the different goat products they produced, and with my purchase of goat cheese she added some fudge free of charge because that’s what kindred spirits do for each other.

For the two weeks that I was at my externship, I stayed in a small town Honokaa. This was one of the original towns that was established because of the sugar cane plantations. Here is where I learned about the history of my people and how integrated it is with Hawaii’s. The Hawaii Wildlife Center was located in Kapauu, and I had to drive everyday from Honokaa to Kapauu. Every day the drive was peaceful and beautiful. I’d pass by ranches filled with beef cows and horses, and climb up hills from which I could get a clear view of the ocean and the expansive greenness of the island. The Big Island of Hawaii is not as densely populated as other islands like Oahu. In between each city or town there was just nature.

From day one the externships was very hands-on. I am incredibly grateful of the immense trust Dr. Guerra had with me and the patience and dedication he had to teach me. While I was there I was responsible of so many tasks, some of the most notable being placing an oral esophageal tube in a Nene (Hawaiian Goose) daily, performing physical therapy exercises with the birds, assisting with anesthesia during surgical procedures, releasing birds back into the wild, and performing two necropsies on White Terns. I learned so much about avian medicine, anatomy and physiology. I really do believe this experience has shaped me to be not only to be a better veterinarian in the future but also holistically as a person."

STUDENT EXPERIENCE: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Submitted by Isabel Correia, University of Tennessee

"In January, I traveled to the Galapagos Islands for a study abroad experience as part of an “Applied One Health” elective course through my veterinary college. As a dual degree DVM-MPH student, I am passionate about one health approaches to wildlife conservation. From my previous education, I don’t think a realistic solution to conservation issues involves insufficient efforts to remove human influence from wild areas. This effort no longer seems practical in our current earth system and in light of the rate of climate change and globalization. Rather, I think a more promising direction to pursue lies in embracing these new human-animal-environment interactions and finding healthy, sustainable ways to move forward.

As much as I read and write about one health and value its importance, there is no replacement for real-world application of the principles I have come to value. There are few opportunities for applied one health that currently exist for veterinary students, and I am very grateful that this opportunity arose at my university during my time here. Working with Galapagos Animal Doctors (GAD) through Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) provided me with great insight into this field. This experience was also a great opportunity to improve my cultural competency, cultural humility, and Spanish-language proficiency. I gained confidence in my Spanish speaking skills, helping to break down language as a barrier to my career and ability to communicate.

One major takeaway from this experience was the complexity of establishing and growing a successful one health project starting as an ‘outsider’ to the community. GAD’s primary objective at this time is to perform sterilizations of dogs and cats in an effort to reduce the burden of introduced domestic species on the native wildlife. Following their one health goals, future objectives include vaccinations of dogs and cats as well as eventually providing care for wildlife. Coming from the United States, vaccination sounds like a very basic, fundamental part of veterinary practice. This is supported by the awareness that so many animals on the islands suffer from diseases that core vaccines and preventatives can help prevent, such as parvovirus, distemper, and ehrlichiosis. However, I learned that starting a vaccine program in a place like the Galapagos is not as straightforward as it may seem to someone with my background. Additionally, public perception is something to be taken very seriously, and outreach is vital to advocate for responsible pet ownership and the efficacy (and safety) of vaccinations once GAD has the ability to administer them.

I also found it very valuable to learn about conservative medicine. In our classes, we are used to learning about the ‘gold standard’ of veterinary care and often have a wide array of resources at our disposal. At the GAD clinic, I learned how the veterinarians still practiced high quality medicine in spite of limited resources, often empirically treating cases. My takeaway from this is not that we should never use the diagnostic equipment at our disposal, but rather that we may find ourselves in situations where the most blood work we can do is a smear and PCV, imaging is limited to an ultrasound (if that), and the surgeries you can do are limited to what can be done with a basic spay pack under total intravenous anesthesia. It is essential we learn to be resourceful in this profession; this is a quality that I think one gets better at with experience, and it will be very important in my future career. 

In addition to practicing my clinical and surgical skills, I gained incredible insight into the increasingly necessary role that veterinarians play in the anthropocene on the one health stage. While the Galapagos Animal Doctors clinic currently works with domestic species (mainly dogs and cats), it is clear that there is a great need for veterinary care of these animals. Introduced and invasive species have a massive detrimental impact on the endemic wildlife that the islands are known for. Seeing the impact that a single clinic can have on greater conservation efforts was very eye-opening and inspiring as I move forward with my career. I am so grateful to IVEC for supporting this experience that has allowed me to grow personally and professionally, giving me more confidence for a career in one health."

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.