So what does it take to be a wildlife vet, part 2.....

After my introduction, where to start next….? Maybe I should point out that generally a wildlife vet works with lions, tigers and bears (despite two of these three not being indigenous to SA…) whereas an “exotics” (note the “s”!) vet works with valuable birds (of the feathered variety), caged/pet reptiles, spiders, caged primates, etc.
If you work in a zoo you will be exposed to all of the above, and a whole lot more! I have helped out at one of our largest zoos in the country and found it immensely interesting, but also somewhat sad and frustrating in other ways – some animals just do not belong in zoos and money is not an excuse to keep animals in poor conditions, rather release them back in their natural environment and country if conditions cannot be rectified.
Anyway, these days I mostly work with various antelope species, especially the rare ones (sable, roan, etc) and colour variants (golden gnu, black impala, etc), rhino (white and black), predators (lion and cheetah mostly), elephant, disease free (this is a discussion on its own!) buffalo and various others such as giraffe (they like to die on you, so you don’t always rush at a job involving them!). Please bare in mind this is in South Africa and that our situation and conditions are very different from other African, and even Southern African, countries. Here everything is fenced in at some stage – maybe after 250 hectares, maybe after 2.5 million hectares – which has pro’s and cons, but it certainly has a large impact on us as vets and the work we do. I would say without doubt that it increases the veterinary work load greatly and creates work opportunities that would not otherwise exist. But fences are another discussion, not entirely in the realm of what I am supposed to be sharing with you, so let me move on before I get side-tracked, which I easily do.
The veterinarian’s role almost always almost always involves chemical immobilisation (not anaesthesia, there are some important technical differences which one needs to bare in mind if you want to live a long life while doing this job….) of the animal firstly.
If the animal is just being relocated then you need to get it into the truck or crated enclosure, alive preferably, and then revive it by giving the antidote. Now some of these antidotes given intravenously work very fast, – as in 30 – 90 seconds fast – so it is important that you get out of the truck or crate enclosure rather smartly after administering the antidote. More on darting and immobilisation in the next part…..
Wild African Regards,