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Blogs from the Field

A healthy future for wildlife, people, and planet.

Adam Frosolone in the field.

This summer, I embarked on an unforgettable journey into the heart of aquatic veterinary medicine with Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan at the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) in Newport, Oregon. The center is Oregon State University’s coastal campus, also serving as a marine science laboratory and an oceanographic research base for six state and federal agencies....
Wild snake capture and field sampling. Photo: Hannah Danks

I had the opportunity to spend this past summer as a wildlife population health extern at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS). SCWDS is a collaborative wildlife health partnership based at the University of Georgia (UGA)....
Danielle Keerbs shown changing a bandage.

My heart hammers in my chest as I unlock the door to the enclosure, my eyes hunting through the mesh to find the animal inside. It’s not just the heat making my palms sweaty as I open the door and duck inside; it’s not just the exercise making me short of breath. Of all the animals in the clinic, this is the one that terrifies me the most: the one-armed, two-toed sloth named Ace.... 
Administering a vaccine during the rabies campaign trip in the Eastern Communal Conservancies. Photo: Dr. Robin Gieling

On an early Saturday morning in late September 2021, I was half-awake when I logged in to attend the virtual Veterinary One Health Association Symposium. The first presenter was Dr. Laurie Marker, who I then learned was the Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF)....
A Calfornia Condor shown spreading it's wings while standing on a rock; Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

Thanks to lifted pandemic restrictions and funding from both the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Cornell Wildlife Health Center Student Support Fund, I was able to travel to the opposite side of the country for the last six weeks of my clinical year for an externship at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California....
A sloth with telemetry tag shown in a tree.

Did you know that the second most common cause of injured sloths coming into rescue centers is electrocution? If not, you are in the majority. There is little to no literature about sloth electrocution in the academic world, even though it is such a pervasive problem.
A whale calf’s entangled flipper and how tightly wrapped the line is.

For my last summer before clinical rotations, I wanted to gain experience with marine animals. I was accepted as an intern with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Rescue & Research (MMRR) program in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a unique geographical area where tides and coastlines can suddenly trap a dolphin or whale in inches of water....
Georgia Aquarium Animal Health Team

I started veterinary school with the goal of working with stingrays, dolphins, and fish. Now, four years later, I can say I have worked at some of the top aquariums and other aquatic facilities in the country and connected with colleagues who are leading this field.
Hery Ríos-Guzmán, DVM ’24, in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, FUNDEMAR’s headquarters.

We strap on our snorkel gear and jump into the blue. It only takes a few butterfly kicks to reach a citadel bustling with life. Within seconds, we are greeted by branching, massive, and laminar structures formed by hundreds of genetically identical individuals....
Katherine Zhou performing a medical procedure on a polar bear

I have met many conservationists who do not believe in keeping wildlife in captivity. However, the San Diego Zoo seems to win the hearts of both wildlife conservationists and those who work with captive wildlife. How does this zoo bridge the gap between the two?