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.

May 19th
2019

Welcome to the Zoo!

   Aloha from Pretoria, South Africa! Yes I made it safely and it is currently day 3 at the
zoo while I am writing this. My flight started from Columbus with a layover in Atlanta and then a painful 16hr flight to Johannesburg. From my window seat I could see South Africa below just as the sun was setting.Even from over 20,000 feet I still strained my tired eyes in hopes of seeing an animal below. The orange glow from the sun cast some beautiful light on the Namib Desert as we flew overhead. Namib means “Vast Place” and that wasn’t an exaggeration the desert seemed like it would
never end. When I arrived in Johannesburg I exited the plane and went to customs. The line
was long but it was moving quickly so it wasn’t too bad. I made some friends with a Canadian
couple who were there for a safari trip, they were heading to Namibia. We parted ways as we
headed to baggage claim where I received both my check ins. I followed the crowd out to the
arrival area where I would meet Ashley (Internship partner) and our drivers. It took me a
minute but I found everyone and we headed to the car. By the time we actually left the airport
the day had given way to night. The city shared a familiarity to those back in the states, except
the highways because in South Africa they drive on the left side, and the driver sits in the right
seat. Tall skyscrapers illuminated the night and the honking of cars echoed in the distance. We
stopped at a fast food place called “Wimpy’s” grabbed food to go and then headed to the zoo.
The drive was short just under 30 minutes. We pulled up to the main entrance where the
guards let us in. They then handed us our room and house keys and we continued on our way.
The drive to our accommodation was longer than I expected. The road twisted and turned. The
only light was that from the headlights of our car. As we made a quick right turn Ashley shouts
“Is that an elephant!?” in the dark there was a faint outline of what seemed to be a big African
elephant. The drivers laughed didn’t confirm or deny her claim and we pulled up to the house.
At night it was difficult to make out the structure but it was made of stone and there was a long
patio area that led to the door. Inside we were greeted by two men, one from Austria who is a
researcher here, and the other a university student from Belgium. They were both very kind.
They helped us with our bags and showed us to our room. The interior of the house was very
clean and well maintained. The floors, and many of the walls were wood which gave off a nice
scent throughout the house. The kitchen was beautiful with marble countertops, white tiled
floor, and dark mahogany shelving. Our room is steps away from the kitchen and living area.
Ashley and I share a room furnished with two beds, a desk and a nice view of the back deck and
greenery. That night we went to bed around 8:30pm. I ended up waking up at 2:45am the next
day unable to go back to bed. So I watched as the sun rose its light filtering through the blinds
of our window. As the morning went on and the sun rose higher the animals woke up as well. It
started with the song of birds and then the call of the peacocks and right around 7 you could
hear the lions groaning. We left the house around 9 that morning and explored the zoo. Outside the weather was a nice 74 degrees. Our house is actually situated feet from one of the Rhino enclosures.
These were the Southern white rhinos. One male and one female. The male, named Goliath
was hand-reared so he enjoys the company of people and considers cars as his competition.
That morning we witnessed one of the zoo employees racing Goliath in his van. He would rev
the engine and Goliath would paw the ground to show he was ready. As the van took off tank-
like Goliath would trot after him kicking up dust as he went. We continued on our little tour around the zoo checking out the many different species in its collection. We finally made our journey to the research center where we met our contact Lufuno. She introduced us to DD who would be taking us grocery shopping that day. Another staff member named, Jamie also tagged along for the trip. They helped us get what we needed and dropped us back off at the house. We made plans for the next week to all watch Game of Thrones together.
  This morning I woke up at 5:30 which is much better than 2:45, left my bed at 7:30 and
cooked myself some eggs and toast. It was nice to be the first one up. I sat there with a book for
a couple hours until the rest of the house joined. When we had all had our breakfast we got
dressed and walked around the zoo. Stefan and Nikolas, the two men we met the first night
gave us the grand tour. The zoo is one of the largest in the world housing around 700 species.
We didn’t get to all the animals, but we have weeks to see them. We hiked to the top of the hill where, situated in the cliff side were lookouts so we could see over the zoo and into the city.
Below the lookout were the lion and tiger enclosures. We then went back to the house where,
Nikolas made us some pesto pasta for lunch. We chatted for a bit then I went to read and write
this blog! Tonight we are planning on seeing the bush babies. They jump around in the treed in
the backyard of the house every night. Apparently BBC did a special on them here not too long
ago. We have officially started working with the veterinarians. This post is a bit late and I promise to get up a current one asap. Cheers from South Africa!

GOLIATH (pictured left)

Southern white rhinos are one of two subspecies of white rhino and are the most common. They are listed on IUCN as near threatened. Rhino horn is made primarily of keratin, a protein that is found in fingernails or hair. Sadly many people believe their horns can be used for medicinal purposes, and therefor they are killed for it. Let’s raise awareness and protect these amazing animals!