About Wildlife Medicine

[futurehealervet]

Hey everyone,
I love the idea of wildlife medicine but am having a hard time finding out what it entails. I've only been able to find wildlife rehabilitators, not wildlife veterinarians. I shadowed at a wildlife rehab facility for a month and all we seemed to do was feed orphaned wildlife and clean. I saw little of the "medicine" I've observed in SA or LA clinics. Is wildlife medicine primarily rehabilitation? Do you see as much surgery and medical treatment as in other practices? I'm having a hard time getting a feel for the field. I know you can go into wildlife medicine in vet school, I'd just like to know how it differs from other clinical practices in terms of the actual practice. In addition, if anyone knows of any place around NY for shadowing, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!!

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[epivetlove]

I think wildlife medicine has many hats. I volunteered for a year at a wildlife rehab, but the vet we used was rarely called out due to cost. So unless the program is well-funded, a rehab is unlikely to have a full-time vet on service. I think a good deal of wildlife vets are employed by state and federal agencies doing herd management, herd health, and disease management/surveillance. Some are in research and academia, as well. Others are private practitioners that are in remote areas that are willing to treat wildlife (I shadowed a vet like this). I will try to expand more when I'm off my phone.

 

[WateryTart]

When I volunteered in wildlife rehab, I did have the opportunity to shadow the vets for a couple of fascinating surgeries. However, at least in my area, vets who do wildlife rehab are unpaid volunteers who just enjoy & are passionate about wildlife rehab. The rehab facilities are run on donations and simply don't have the funds to pay for their services.

 

[dovelover]

Just don't. You'll be happier in the long run. Wildlife medicine's a super hard field to get into, and chances are you won't find a job you can make a living off of. Save yourself the pain and frustration by not becoming interested in the field in the first place. (I'm only half joking here...)

In all seriousness, though, wildlife rehab is one of the few true individual animal hands on medicine opportunities when it comes to wildlife, and there are very few vets who work full time in wildlife rehab (there just isn't the money for it), and they often have to get second or third jobs to pay the bills. And you have to be really good at networking and getting to know people to even hope to get a job like that. Most rehab centers don't have vets on staff, or they only come in one day a week or something like that. More often you'll see private practice vets that have relationships with local wildlife rehabbers and see their animals as needed (and when cost allows), and some vets may even be licensed rehabbers themselves (moreso as a hobby). So you may want to ask at your rehab center what vet they usually consult with or take animals to when needed and see if you can contact them?

There are also wildlife veterinarians that may be employed by the government, but those jobs are a lot of herd health, as others have mentioned, as well as regulatory and disease surveillance, and probably some public health too. But most states only have 1-2 of those, at max, so unless you happen to live near where they're located, you may be out of luck in terms of trying to shadow them or anything.

As far as research, if you're really interested in wildlife conservation, going to vet school is probably not the best way to go. We have a vet out our school who is an epidemiologist by training and does some wildlife research internationally, but whenever he does talks about how to get a career like his, he'll pretty much tell you that there really isn't a lot of need for vets in wildlife conservation from the perspective of "hands on medicine," unless you're willing to be not much more than a technician for the researchers who are calling the shots. If you get a PhD with your DVM you can head up your own research projects in wildlife, probably moreso in zoonotic wildlife disease research, but it's a long road to get there, and it's not going to consist of much in the way of hands on medicine like you see in a clinic. It's really more public health or population medicine.

 

[FutureZooVet]

So wildlife medicine is a complicated, difficult field. It requires a ton of sacrifice both in time and money; it requires lots of networking, experience, and a bit of luck. Like everyone has been saying, most rehabs have limited capacity to hire or even pay veterinarians. This is especially true when there are veterinarians in the area willing to donate time and only charge for medicines or X-rays.

I've seen positions for wildlife rehabilitation, disease research, academia involving teaching plus 1/4 wildlife clinical/field work, veterinarians for wildlife preserves in Thailand and African countries, etc. Many zoo veterinarians work with wildlife, either by sponsorship through their employer or on their holidays with their money. Some places hire veterinarians only temporarily. For example, many places will require a veterinarian assist conservation researchers who capture animals for their studies. No one wants highly endangered species dying because some scientist gave too much of the wrong drug. Plus, many drugs for capturing animals are highly regulated/dangerous and must be used by a veterinarian. One of my professors went down to Brazil to study jaguars and had a veterinarian accompany him. The veterinarian darted animals caught in traps and monitored them while my prof. and his assistants took samples.

As far as shadowing someone, it will be difficult to find anyone in your immediate area. My recommendation would be to go for an internship, job, or volunteer that has veterinarian you might want to shadow. Then when you have free time try to shadow that way. I did this at one of my past jobs and was able to observe the veterinarian for several hours a week for over a year.

There is no one set track for all of these jobs, so if you are considering this look into and try to find job ads. Make a compilation of what it is they want and what they offer. They won't all be on one website, and many of the websites will be difficult to find, you'll have to do your homework! This will give you a better idea of the opportunities available, what you actually would be willing to do, and whether the sacrifice of time and money will be worth it for you ultimately.

 

[epivetlove]

The American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians seems to keep a fairly up-to-date website, so it's something to keep in mind. They have job listings, as well as internship opportunities. The internships may only be for vet students, though--haven't really looked in awhile.

 

[futurehealervet]

Thanks for the info guys!!!!! I know that schools in my area such as tufts and cornell have wildlife programs so I thought there would be more opportunities in that specific field. I just want to have a clear view of my options before/if I get to vet school and have to choose a track.

 

[Psorophoraferox]

Related:
The Wildlife Disease Association has their yearly conference coming up at the end of summer. http://www.wildlifedisease.org/wda/CONFERENCES/AnnualInternationalConference.aspx

And if you're interested in wildlife med, I recommend checking out LSU. My opinion may be a little biased, but I think our wildlife hospital is pretty awesome. Wildlife patients get rads, surgery, medications, etc. as well as any rehabilitation needed. Around 1800 animals are admitted to the hospital every year.

http://www.wildlife.lsu.edu

 

[TheComfyCat]

I shadow at a small animal/ exotics clinic, and they also have a non-profit wildlife program. Basically, people (including animal control, etc) drop off injured wildlife, and the vets take care of any surgery/ medical concerns, then pass the animal over to wildlife rehabilitators. The techs/vet assistants take care of the actual feeding/ medicating/ daily care of the wildlife wild they're at the clinic. The vets mostly assess the needs of the animals and perform any necessary surgeries (lots of broken bones/ animals that were shot).

Obviously these vets don't work exclusively with wildlife, but they do get to work with wildlife without working more than one job...

 

[that redhead]

Thanks for the info guys!!!!! I know that schools in my area such as tufts and cornell have wildlife programs so I thought there would be more opportunities in that specific field. I just want to have a clear view of my options before/if I get to vet school and have to choose a track.

If you want to work with wildlife, I would ask yourself what you want to and expect to be able to to do with them before applying to vet school.

If you want to do rehab, it could be a hobby or a volunteer gig while you work another, different job full-time. If you want to participate in medicine, you could be a zoo vet or zoo technician. If you want to do public education/outreach, you could be a keeper, park ranger or work for the government. If you want to make more of a broad impact, research and/or conservation are considerations (but I wouldn't get your DVM for those positions). There are many ways to work with wildlife and the majority of them do not require a DVM (and that would be a waste of your time and money, in my opinion, unless you want to be a zoo vet).

 

[futurehealervet]

If you want to work with wildlife, I would ask yourself what you want to and expect to be able to to do with them before applying to vet school.

If you want to do rehab, it could be a hobby or a volunteer gig while you work another, different job full-time. If you want to participate in medicine, you could be a zoo vet or zoo technician. If you want to do public education/outreach, you could be a keeper, park ranger or work for the government. If you want to make more of a broad impact, research and/or conservation are considerations (but I wouldn't get your DVM for those positions). There are many ways to work with wildlife and the majority of them do not require a DVM (and that would be a waste of your time and money, in my opinion, unless you want to be a zoo vet).

I know I want to go to vet school and I love SA medicine. I'm not really set on anything and I just want to get a feel for all my options. I'm also interested in exploring zoo, exotics, production, aquatics medicine. I was just a bit confused because as people have said, there doesn't seem to be a need for people who are solely wildlife vets. I guess I'm having a hard time giving up on the idea of learning to do without food or sleep and doing it ALL. Oh well, there are WAY too many choices

 

[that redhead]

I know I want to go to vet school and I love SA medicine. I'm not really set on anything and I just want to get a feel for all my options. I'm also interested in exploring zoo, exotics, production, aquatics medicine. I was just a bit confused because as people have said, there doesn't seem to be a need for people who are solely wildlife vets. I guess I'm having a hard time giving up on the idea of learning to do without food or sleep and doing it ALL. Oh well, there are WAY too many choices

As long as you're interested in something else in addition to wildlife, I think that's fine You can do SA and volunteer your time at a rehab center on the side. If you do end up wanting to do zoo med, it's really, really important to start building connections and getting experience in the field as soon as possible though.