Skip to main content

Cornell University

Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center
for Wildlife Health

Blogs from the Field

A healthy future for wildlife, people, and planet.

A sloth has it's mouth on a leaf, while being fed with a syringe.
Wildlife Medicine The Student Experience
Cornell Expanding Horizons
Expanding Horizons
Expanding Horizons Program
Expanding Horizons International Education Program
Sloth
Costa Rica
Costa Rica Wildlife
The Sloth Institute
Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health’s Student Support Fund
Cornell
Student
Student Experience
Student Experiential Learning
Student Learning
Student Support Fund
Data
Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth
Brazilian Wildlife
Blood Test

Studying Sloths Through the Scope: A Summer of Conservation in Costa Rica

April 07, 2026
Thanks to Cornell’s Expanding Horizons program, I had the opportunity to complete a project at The Sloth Institute in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. TSI is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescue, rehabilitation, research, and public education, with a strong emphasis on sloth health, behavior, and overall well-being in both wild and rehabilitation settings....
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 Wildlife Medicine 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....