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Cornell University

Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center
for Wildlife Health

Blog

Blogs from the Field

A healthy future for wildlife, people, and planet.

Ava kneels next to a sedated lion lying on the ground at night. The lion’s face is partially covered with a cloth, and Ava is holding a bag of medical supplies, smiling at the camera. A vehicle is visible in the background.
Wild Carnivores The Student Experience
Namibia
DNA Samples
Lion
Veterinary Student
Fieldwork
Free-ranging Wildlife Conservation
University of Namibia
Expanding Horizons
Community Livelihoods
hyena
Skeleton Coast
Brown Hyena Project
Carnivore
Wild Carnivores
Carnivore Populations
Data
jackals
Lead
Etosha National Park
Etosha Ecological Institute
Elephant
Poaching
Black Rhino
wildebeest
dehorning
Applied Research
Human-Wildlife Conflict

From Books to the Bush: How Namibia Transformed My Veterinary Education

October 02, 2025
It’s 3 a.m. in the Namibian bush. A team of us circles around a sedated lion to take DNA samples while two other male lions lurk nearby. We haven’t gotten an ounce of sleep, and I haven’t had a hot meal in a week, but I've never felt more alive than at this moment....
Two wildlife workers handle a tranquilized animal beside a large metal crate labeled "WARNING WILD ANIMALS" in a dry grassland, with mountains in the background and a red helicopter flying in the sky.
Aquatic Animal Health The Student Experience
Conservation Biology
Wildlife
Conservation
Jake Holshuh
Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health’s Student Support Fund
Student
Free-ranging Wildlife Conservation
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Externship
Veterinary Externship
University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Wildlife Health Lab
Aerial Darting
UC Berkeley California Wolf Project
grey wolf
Population Health
One Health
Wildlife Disease
Wildlife Toxicology
Point Reyes National Seashore
Disease Ecology
Human-Wildlife Conflict
Oiled Wildlife Care Network
Oil Spill
UC Santa Cruz
Marine Wildlife
Wildlife Veterinarian
Wildlife Pathology
Applied Research
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Elephant Seals

A Snapshot of California’s Wildlife Work

September 25, 2025
In an ever-changing society, the roles of biologists and veterinarians remain essential in the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity more broadly....
Victoria is wearing a white lab coat and blue gloves as she measures the girth of a seal using a yellow measuring tape in a clinical lab setting. The seal is lying on a metal examination table. The room is well-lit with industrial-style overhead lights and contains medical equipment.
Wildlife Pathology The Student Experience
Seals
Wildlife Pathology
marine mammal
Strandings Investigation Program
Utrecht University
Externship
Veterinary Externship
Student
Student Experience
Veterinary Student
Free-ranging Wildlife Conservation
Marine Mammal Stranding
Necropsy
Postmortem Examinations
Histopathology
Dutch Wildlife Health Center
Hands-on Experience
Anatomic Pathology
Pathology
Infectious Disease
Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health
Student Support Fund
Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health’s Student Support Fund
SOS Dolfijn
Stranding

Using Veterinary Pathology to Investigate Marine Mammal Strandings in the North Sea

September 16, 2025 by Victoria Priester
Every seal or porpoise that strands tells a story of the life it lived and how it died, though some findings from necropsies make more complete stories than others....
A rhinoceros walking through dry grassland with dense green shrubs and trees in the background, under a partly cloudy sky.
Beyond Fences
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability
Greater One-horned Rhinoceros
African Savanna
Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp
Savanna Science Network Meeting
Kruger National Park
Rhino
Rhinos
Poaching
Ecosystem
Free-ranging Wildlife Conservation
Biodiversity
Biodiversity Conservation
Ecologist
Aerial Darting
African Wildlife
Black Rhino
One-Horned Rhino
Threatened Species
One Health

My Rhinoceros Teacher

July 02, 2025 by Margaret Swift
As dawn yawns and stretches over the African savanna, a line of cars waits impatiently at the wooden gate of Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp. I join the tail end in my tiny white rental car...