May 24th 2019

 

 

Never A Dull Moment

 

 

     So I have officially survived my first week at the zoo and let me tell you every minute of it was exciting and educational. Monday was our first official day as interns. We woke up at 7 and left the house at 8. That morning we met with the head researcher who gave us our research projects that we would be accomplishing during the duration of our stay. My project is on barcoding of South African antelope. That covers many species and the applications of the research could assist law enforcement agencies to identify species in wildlife offense cases. Most of my research time will be spent in the forensics lab here at the zoo. 

Me pictured with one of the Leopard Tortoise hatchlings

     Later that day after we met all the researchers we would be working with, we were pleasantly introduced to the two veterinarians, Rob, and Kresen. They were both very kind, and showed us around the health center and introduced us to the staff. Rob mentioned that if we want to join them for rounds in the mornings we would need to be there at 8 o'clock sharp.

     Well, 8 o'clock came on that Tuesday and we were at the clinic. The staff trickled in and we went over things that needed to be accomplished for the day. We then checked on all the animals at the hospital. They have 70 Leopard Tortoises at the hospital, over 50 of which are hatchlings. The hatchlings are kept on the same side as the females but in a smaller enclosure to prevent losing them. Ashley and I were delegated to check each hatchling for shell softness. Shell softness, specifically the belly is a good indicator that they were not receiving enough calcium in their diet and sunlight. We found a couple that fit this criteria and they were taken inside the hospital to be observed and receive a bit more TLC. This same day we observed our very first darting. Kresen, got notified that one of the Scimitar-horned Oryx females was badly limping. They had done a procedure on her regarding the same leg before so he was concerned. We drove to the enclosure where the Oryx were housed and she was very easy to spot with her limp. We drove to the back where the keepers had access. Ashley and I were the scribes for the procedure, Kresen: "...Mg of Ketamine" Us: "Can you spell that?" We were thrown right in and it was very nerve racking and exciting. Kresen darted her with a dart gun in her hindquarter and within 15 min she was down. They loaded her into the truck and we were on our way back to the hospital. At the hospital the female headed straight to radiology to get a an x-ray of her hoof. Ashley and I remained the scribe but also we monitored her health stats to record on the immobilization chart. Kresen cleaned her hoof, sanded it down, and wrapped it. She was then placed in one of the hospital's outdoor facilities to recover.

Female Oryx getting x-rayed

 

    Wednesday was an early early morning. We were heading to Mokopani for the day with Rob. Mokopani is another zoo facility about 2hrs away so we were heading there to check on a few animals the staff was concerned about and do an overall checkup. The bus left at 5:30am that morning so it was still very dark out. There was six people in total heading to Mokopani. The drive over was exciting Rob asked us a lot of questions concerning the animal that we would need to consider if a procedure needed to take place. On the schedule we were supposed to be darting, a roan antelope, a lion, and potentially a baboon. When we arrived to the facility we checked on a few of the animals before we took a quick trip to a store for breakfast. We got fruit salad bowls. It was some of the best kiwi I had ever tasted.
      Back at Mokopani with our bellies full and happy we drove into the reserve area to check on the antelope. The female Rob was concerned about kept to herself and was standing in an abnormal way. Rob, myself and Sabeth were dropped at the green hunting hut to wait for the animals as they were lured in with food. The other herd members were the first to come, then the warthogs, and last the monkeys. But the female again stayed behind. To get a good shot, because we would only have one, she needed to be in closer range. As she started to near the food Sabeth sneezed and all the animals scattered. Rob was mad because those animals wouldn't return again that day, and Sabeth now will never live it down. We got picked up and we headed to the lions. There's one female and one male in the enclosure. The female absolutely despises Rob because he darted her once and she remembers. As we approached the enclosure both lions were calm. Once Rob spoke up the female immediately got aggressive. "Hello Lisa", "GRRRRRR!!." It's their breeding season so Rob decided to save her procedure until another day because the male would not leave her side. The baboon didn't need any medical attention and he should be released later this week. Mokopani also has pygmy hippos. As Rob was trying to assist the calf back into the enclosure the mother turned around and flung her poop all over him. If you haven't seen a hippo poop google it. The drive home wasn't too bad we listened to music and enjoyed the views. That night when we got home Marion another student from France had baked us cookies. It was a great end to a good exhausting day.

One of the x-rays I took of the marmoset

     Thursday we did full health exams and x-rays on 7 black-eared marmosets. My job was carrying the animal to and from the exam and x-ray room and helping to take the x-rays. After the first two marmosets I could set the x-rays alone. They all seemed pretty healthy and they were taken back to their enclosure.
     Today we darted a red kangaroo male. He went down very quickly and we x-rayed his skull because he has surgery on his jaw a few weeks ago. The wound seemed infected so they wanted to make sure it didn't spread. Kresen cleaned the wound and sewed it back up, while I was the scribe and checked the animals temperature. All in all it's been a very long and amazing week. Can't wait to share my next exciting adventure!




Kresen showing us where the vein is in a kangaroo tail. The male is still asleep but he had just been given the antidote to wake up.