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Blogs from the Field

A healthy future for wildlife, people, and planet.

Colleen Sorge with anteater at the Abilene Zoo.

My experience as a first-year vet student in 2020 was largely shaped by the pandemic and the many limitations it imposed. When I first learned about the Abilene Zoo in April 2021, it was through a Cornell Zoo and Wildlife Society (ZAWS) lecture given by Dr. Stephanie Carle, the Abilene Zoo’s senior veterinarian, over Zoom....
Ana Pantín with sheep in Tajikistan.

I vividly remember the night before I left for Tajikistan; I was nervous, excited, and utterly exhausted. I had just finished wrapping graduation gifts for my roommates and had just about moved everything out of where I was living for the last two years (including my bed)....
Carolina's compares the size of her hand to an African elephant's foot.

As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls draws travelers from around the world to experience the majestic shower of falling waters. After connecting with the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) and securing a position on their team, I began planning travels to a country I knew little about....
Laci Taylor on JGI truck

In November 2019, my classmate, Hannah Padda, DVM ’22, and I were selected by Dr. Robin Radcliffe, a Cornell wildlife veterinarian and associate professor of practice in wildlife and conservation medicine, as two of six participants for his 2020 Engaged Cornell team....
Mariacamila Garcia Estrella shown in the field with another vet examining a young buffalo

A few weeks ago I learned about trypanosome parasites in parasitology class. As the professor explained what diseases these parasites cause, one species of trypanosome in particular stood out to me, Trypanosoma evansi. T. evansi is transmitted by tabanid flies and is found throughout Africa, Asia and tropical America, and it causes a disease called surra in all domestic species.
Entrance to “Panda Valley” in Dujiangyan, one of the research sites we frequently visited

Two years ago, nearly to the day, I sat across from Dr. Marc Valitutto in a conference room at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia....