Introduction to Wildlife Medicine I

Catalog description

This course provides students with current information on wildlife medicine within the context of One Health. The vital role of veterinarians in wildlife conservation, monitoring wildlife health, and controlling wildlife diseases, especially in relation to public and domestic animal health, is not directly addressed in the core curriculum. This course is designed to provide students with an overview of wildlife medicine through lectures on current wildlife topics and research presented by veterinarians working across various aspects of the field. Topics covered may include environmental monitoring, emerging wildlife diseases and One Health, disease surveillance and prevention, disease outbreaks and control, captive propagation and species re-introduction, captive wildlife management, treatment of native wildlife in clinical practice, and wildlife rehabilitation. The course includes eight hours of lectures and five 30-minute sessions, during which students will be required to ask the speakers questions relevant to their wildlife work or research. Students will also have reading assignments from journals relevant to each lecture topic. The final (9th) lecture hour and 30-minute session will be used for students to present on a select wildlife disease. The course also includes three 2-hour technique labs. One focuses on field immobilization and patient monitoring, one on avian patients, and the last on chelonian patients. The course is suitable for students interested in pursuing wildlife work as a primary career and for future general practice veterinarians who wish to be more informed on wildlife careers and related research. The course is independent of VCSP 6560 ; a student may take either or both courses in the same block.