Blood Draws and Vaccinations at White Oak

Name: Samantha Bonifas
Class Year: 2018
Hometown: Delphos, Ohio
Internship: Wildlife Conservation Intern
Location: White Oak Conservation Center (Yulee, Florida)

   Here at White Oak the health of the animals is a very important. Routine checkups are done regularly to monitor the health of animals. Since White Oak focuses on natural social groups in large pastures traditional training is difficult. In this post I will discuss the different management techniques used for collecting blood and giving vaccines to rhinos.
   First I’ll go over blood draws. Blood is collected for numerous reasons, the most common being for routine checkups to make sure nothing is abnormal in the blood work. Another reason blood is collected is determine is a rhino is pregnant, since the rhinos are not trained for internal ultrasounds (rhinos have too much body mass for external ultrasounds to be effective). First the keepers work to desensitize the rhinos to needles, by using a blunt object like a pen or paperclip to poke ears and legs on the rhinos. To get blood from a rhino we first have to line them up parallel to the fence. Rhinos are fed during the blood draw to keep them stationary. For white rhinos alfalfa is used as a treat, but for black and Indian rhino fruit such as apples, bananas, and carrots are used. After getting the rhinos attention with a treat the keepers will line the rhinos up against the fence so they can reach the blood draw sites safely. The keepers will try to get blood from two areas, either the ear or the leg. Blood is then put into a tube and sent to the lab for testing. During blood collection keepers take the time to do up close visual checks on the rhinos. They will check eyes, ears, feet, and folds of skin to make sure everything is normal.
   Vaccines are done once a year on all the rhinos. Vaccinating rhinos is a little trickier than collecting blood. Keepers line the rhinos up the same as they would for blood draws. Each animal receives 4 vaccines, each with its own injection point. Each armpit receives an injection and each side of the neck also gets an injection. Since each vaccine has its own injection point keepers can later look for skin irritation or bumps to keep track of whether a vaccine has caused a reaction for the rhino. Some of the rhinos at White Oak are more skittish and not comfortable around people. For these individuals vets use a technique called “standing sedation” where the rhinos are given a small amount of sedative. Just enough sedative is given to the rhino to keep them calm; they are still awake and can still stand on their own. This technique is used because rhinos can injure themselves or staff if they run away during an injection. After all of the injections are given the rhino are given a reversal drug that reverses the effects of the sedative. The keepers keep a close eye on the rhino to make sure they recover well. There are only a few individuals that require standing sedations and keepers continue to work with these animals in the hopes of conditioning them for voluntary vaccinations in the future.

One of the rhino keepers preparing a white rhino for a blood draw.

Dallas Part 1: the Hospital

Name: Abbey McDermott
Class Year: Junior
Hometown: Burton, OH
Internship: Undergrad Hospital Intern
Location: Dallas Zoo

Now that I’m about halfway through my time here at Dallas, I feel like it’s about time to write this little life update.  I’ve officially gotten into the groove of things here, and although it took me a little while longer to see the trend in my schedule than my lovely roommate/zookeeper intern, Taryn Chudo, I think I can try to explain.

Every morning, I wake up at six o’clock, pick out my outfit (which is usually the most taxing part of my day.  I mean, orange shirt, or orange shirt?  Green shorts or green shorts?  What if I don’t match?) and chat with Taryn while we make breakfast.  Then, the two of us climb into one of our cars with our fantastic host/hippo keeper, Christina, and head to the Zoo.

It’s about a thirty minute drive when it’s Taryn or I in the driver’s seat, and about twenty four when Christina is.  I get dropped off at the hospital, and from there the best part of my day begins.  I usually wait until the vet staff arrives, then go out to the prescription box outside the hospital to pick up any empty medications the keepers need refills on.  The hospital manager/vet tech extraordinaire, Dianna, fills them while I make new labels or check for the day’s treatments, which are listed on the wall.  After that, we head to the morning meeting, where we discuss the day’s procedures, treatments, projects, hospitalized animals’ health, and general agenda.  We always end with a trivia question or joke of some sort, except on the days Dianna forgets.  Then our newest keeper, Lindsay, gets to make up a math problem for us. 

We don’t like the days that Lindsay gets to make up a math problem for us.

From there, every day is different.  Sometimes there are procedures or surgeries, sometimes there are simple runs around the Zoo to check an animal the keepers have noticed is acting differently, and sometimes there are just treatments to go do with the techs.

I don’t go out into the Zoo much, but when I do, I always look for baby Ajabu 

playing in the water!

At noon, we take lunch.  The vet student, Virginia, and I have made a habit of eating outside at an old picnic table where we can see the elephants.  I’m not entirely sure how much longer we’ll be able to do that for with her being from Canada and me being from Ohio, but as of right now we’re still going.  We’re just fighting a losing battle with the Texas heat.

Afternoons at the hospital are all over the place.  Sometimes Dianna and Dr. Raines give me projects.  They’re usually just what I’d call “productive busywork”—jobs the hospital needs done that no one else really has the time or motivation to do.  What I don’t think anyone here understands is that I really don’t mind them at all.  Some days I’m entering bloodwork from one of Dr. Raines’s studies, other days I’m organizing X-rays in the storage room or finding files for Dianna on ZIMS.  No matter what I’m doing, I write down the words I don’t understand, sit down at a computer later, and I learn.  The staff wouldn’t learn from these busywork projects, but what I really don’t think they understand is that I do.

Other days one of the techs will take me under their wing and they’ll teach me how to wrap a surgical pack or set up fecals.  I’ve learned how to do a blood smear, read a reptile CBC, and look for parasite oocytes in a direct smear and a float.  Incredible, right?  If there isn’t lab work to be done, I might spend the end of my day cleaning or helping draw up the endless supply of monthly meds.  Then, at four o’clock, Virginia and I, sign out, say goodbye to the vet staff, and go home until the next day.

So I guess just to summarize this all: I don’t think I’ve ever worked at a place where I wasn’t excited for the weekend.  And then I came here.

Eat, Sleep, Play, Repeat Panda Style

Names: Madison MacElrevey and Miranda Smith
Class Year: Juniors
Hometowns: Lewes, DE (Madison) and Westerville, OH (Miranda)
Internship: Behavioral Research at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Location: Chengdu, China

I cannot believe that Miranda and I only have two weeks left of our internship at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding. Our time here in China has flown by so quickly, but we have had so many fun opportunities and experiences along the way.

Our data collection at the Panda Base is going well, and we have spent several afternoons entering data into excel. I am really excited for when we begin analyzing data and comparing with previous years. Even though we do not interact directly with the cubs, I still feel that I know them personally. It was not easy, and honestly a little frustrating, at first learning how to tell them apart, but over time, I have learned to not only tell them apart based on their looks, but also their personalities. Mei Lan is the trouble maker, and tries her best to keep everyone awake. Xing Fan enjoys spending his time high up in a tree. Yuan Man spends much of his time in the back of the enclosure, but do not let that fool you, as he is the first to pounce on a keeper or photographer when they enter. 

Some of the pandas favorite activities include playing, eating, and lounging.  The cubs are still trying to figure out how to eat the bamboo.

While many of our days at the Panda Base appear to be the same, arriving and collecting data, going to lunch, and then collecting more data until it is time to leave. But, we have had the opportunity to be involved with so much more. We get to see the look on visitors’ faces when they see a panda for the first time. We get to hear the laughs of children when they see a panda splashing in the pool. We get to help brainstorm about new research ideas. We get to interact with keepers and staff that pour their hearts and souls into their work, and treat the pandas and each other as family. And, ultimately, we get to help expand upon the knowledge of Giant Pandas in hopes that one day there will once again be a self-sustaining population in the wild.

On our days off, we have spent time exploring Chengdu and the surrounding area. We went to the Sichuan Opera where traditional acts are performed including singing, music, acting, and my personal favorite face changing. When we need a rest, we head to a local tea house, which can be found in many of the parks and temples. Locals spend their afternoons here sipping tea while conversing or playing cards with their friends. One weekend, I was invited to participate in a local 10k race with a team of eight runners. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with the local running community here, as that is one of the main things I have been missing from home. Other adventures have taken us to Buddhist and Taoist temples and ancient towns. 

Cooling off in a river in one of the ancient towns

My 10k racing team

We placed a key at the top of Mt. Qingcheng

 Our most adventurous weekend was spent at Emeishan. The largest of the seven Buddhist mountains in China. Many travelers take several days to traverse the mountain, but we did not realize this until we had already booked a hotel for the same day we started the hike. This mountain was different than many of the other I have hiked in the past, as instead of a switchback path, the trail was made up of stairs going up and down following the curves of the mountain. As you hike up, you pass through many temples and pavilions along with food stands that are part of someone’s home. While we were a little disappointed that we did not see any monkeys, the scenery was breathtaking. After 13.5 hours and ascending over 10,000ft, we finally made it to our hotel which was close to the Golden Summit. In the morning, we woke up and walked to the summit. Once again the views were amazing. After spending some time here, we took the cable car and a bus back to the bottom, and spent the rest of our day relaxing at a hot spring. This weekend was my favorite because we were challenged and definitely pushed outside our comfort zones, and it felt so good that we were able to make it to the top!

Emeishan

I cannot wait for the experiences that the next couple of weeks will bring, and do not even want to think about leaving this place that I have called my home for the summer.