Blogs from the Field
A healthy future for wildlife, people, and planet.
February 06, 2025
In the Kasongoire Forest of western Uganda, nearly 60 chimpanzees build nests and nap in Ficus trees; playful infants jump energetically from hanging vines, while young males sit in circles to groom each other. When you are deep in the forest observing the chimps, it is easy to forget that this forest is only a fraction of its former size....
January 24, 2025
This past summer, I had the opportunity to work alongside the veterinarians at the Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) in San Isidro, Costa Rica. TRR provides veterinary care, enrichment, and rehabilitation for a diverse array of animals, including birds, sloths, felids, and more....
January 03, 2024
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....
December 20, 2023
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)....
November 21, 2023
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.
August 23, 2023
Working with primates is something I had avoided for a while. Most of my interest has been in southern Africa, with ungulates like giraffes, antelope, and pachyderms being my main focus. Yet I felt that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, learning more about wild primate health would be vital....
August 01, 2023
Cheetahs have long been my favorite animal, so it is no surprise that in March of 2023, I embarked on a 49-hour journey to the country with the largest population of cheetahs. I have wanted to work with cheetahs since I was five years old....
May 24, 2023
This past summer, with support from Cornell’s Expanding Horizons Program, I had the opportunity to work with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia as a veterinary extern....