Marine Animal Experiences?

[hamsterxd]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to this forum... although, I have been lurking around anonymously. I'm considering of becoming a vet for marine animals but still unsure. I was wondering if anyone ever shadow vets in the marine field? Or if you've volunteered at an aquarium before? How was the experience? Would you say the experiences are similar to working with/shadowing vets in SA field?

There's a volunteer position opened for a local (and only) aquarium near me but the downside is that they want volunteers to know how to swim. And in my case, I only know the very, very basic skills. Do you know if vets in this field need to know how to swim?

Thanks for your responses!

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[cs5910]

I think the number of opportunities depend on where you live! I am from the south and we have a Seaquarium where people can apply to volunteer. For this program, you must be scuba certified, so I am assuming you have to be able to swim as well. There are a couple of places in Orlando, FL (marine mammals), the Florida Keys (turtle and dolphin), and on the west coast of FL area (turtles).

A word of caution though, after doing a lot of research into that vet path (it was my goal originally), I was told by several doctors and universities that it is very difficult to break into marine mammal veterinary medicine. Essentially, they told me someone has to die in order for you to get a job.... Once people are picked for the very limited positions that exist, they stick with it for life. That at least was the advice and warning that most places in Florida offered when I was asking info on job prospects after veterinary school.

 

[MommaFox]

Do you know if vets in this field need to know how to swim?

Yes, yes yes yes! You may need to perform procedures in the water, or even observe an animals swimming pattern underwater. This all depends on where you are planning to practice but you need to learn how to swim.

 

[kaydubs]

I like, cs, have also heard the "people must die in order for you to obtain a job in this field" comment. I think it's largely luck, experience, who you know blahblahblah

I have a few friends that have volunteered in aquarium. I wish I had time to.

I think if you have a wider interest than marine mammals strictly, you'll fare better.

Segue: I'm going to AQUAVET this summer. Will let anyone who's interested know how it goes as I work through it

 

[kakurubird]

Segue: I'm going to AQUAVET this summer. Will let anyone who's interested know how it goes as I work through it

yes please share! I'd love to hear about it.

 

[503372]

I like, cs, have also heard the "people must die in order for you to obtain a job in this field" comment. I think it's largely luck, experience, who you know blahblahblah

I think the same can be said of just working with and studying marine mammals. A professor from college told me that there were more biologists studying whales than actual whales. Not sure if this is quite true, but this statement definitely makes a point.

If you have an interest, start as early as possible. Be prepared to volunteer - a lot. You might also want to take swimming lessons so that you are a stronger swimmer. Many of the people I worked with were SCUBA certified and I'll be working on my certification this summer.

There's MARVET for once you're in vet school. Also it will indeed be better if you have interests outside marine mammal medicine.

Additionally, I think it's a requirement to get a marine animal related tattoo somewhere on your body. hehe

 

[BlueHen13]

Last winter I volunteered at a marine mammal rehabilitation center. The veterinarians used by the hospital were actually local small animal veterinarians, who were able to give advice on dosing for medication, look at X-rays, etc. The marine biologists were actually the ones assessing and rescuing the animals, performing physical exams, doing ultrasounds, drawing blood, and performing necropsies. Maybe looking into internships with marine biologists would be worthwhile as well!

 

[hamsterxd]

Thank you everyone for your responses! All have been very helpful. I'm also extremely interested in emergency rescue for animals (i.e: hoarders/puppy mills) so I do have some other options for vet school.

I dread about swimming (nearly drowned as a kid). For the time being, I might consider other positions at the aquarium that does not require swimming just for the experience.

Kaydubs- do please update about your experience at AQUAVET this summer. I'm interested in knowing too!

 

[503372]

I dread about swimming (nearly drowned as a kid). For the time being, I might consider other positions at the aquarium that does not require swimming just for the experience.

It's by no means a necessity to know how to swim if you're going to work with aquatic animals, but your opportunities may be limited a bit. Have you heard about Cullen Jones, the Olympic gold medalist who nearly drowned when he was younger? Maybe his story will provide you with a little inspiration.

 

[cs5910]

I'm friends with Cullen. He's awesome!

 

[jmo1012]

maybe not a 100% requirement to know how to swim, but generally you should. you will be a part of captures and teams - you certainly could end up in the water! additionally, those pools are deep. i don't think i would want to go anywhere near one if i didn't think i had an excellent chance of getting out should i be clumsy. you will learn and have an even deeper appreciation of the marine world if you are SCUBA certified, it's an amazing feeling and gives you such a special look at our underwater ecosystem. since you fear/dread swimming, its definitely something you should work on. marine vets spend a lot of time on, around, and near the water!!

i just finished a 2 week elective on marine mammal conservation with a behavioral specialist from a marine mammal center in the US. after 14 lectures with her, I can safely say that nothing they do in marine mammals seems remotely like SA medicine, aside from the fact that they do some of the same procedures like blood draws, radiographs, and ultrasound. how these procedures go is completely different - everything is a trained behavior. animal is trained to lie on a rad plate and have equipment manipulated around its face. trained not to run away or flinch or mind a needle being stuck in it. trained to come out of the water for an exam (because as she said, if they don't want to there is NOTHING you can do about it!).

i'm participating in MARVET this summer - a marine workshop open to veterinary students each summer. something to look into in the future?

 

[hamsterxd]

I definitely will! I'm not applying to vet school yet. I still have to complete my pre reqs which will take another 1-2 years before I do. But I''m trying to get more diverse experiences since I have a better idea for my concentration in vet school.

 

[Northbound0430]

There are a lot of opportunities in aquatic medicine beyond working in an aquarium or with marine mammals. Look into aquaculture medicine - it is a rapidly growing industry, and there are opportunities where you would least expect them i.e. the midwest. Unless of course your main interest is marine mammals. But even zoo and wildlife veterinarians get some exposure to aquatics.

 

[kaydubs]

There are a lot of opportunities in aquatic medicine beyond working in an aquarium or with marine mammals. Look into aquaculture medicine - it is a rapidly growing industry, and there are opportunities where you would least expect them i.e. the midwest. Unless of course your main interest is marine mammals. But even zoo and wildlife veterinarians get some exposure to aquatics.

Agreed with other options in aquatic medicine. And PM me if you want updates. Then I'll make a note to send you how it goes. (Maybe I'll blog about it! )

 

[503372]

Kaydubs, you weren't recently on rotation in the wildlife clinic were you? Because I spoke to someone there who was doing AQUAVET this summer. Sorry if that's weird to ask. XD

 

[BuggerDoodle]

There are a few schools that offer electives in marine animal treatment. I know that Auburn offers 2 of them and I wouldn't be surprised if some other schools offer them as well (maybe Florida and/or NC State come to mind). Most schools will provide a list of electives so there are a few that offer courses on marine animals.

 

[BulldogMS]

A word of caution though, after doing a lot of research into that vet path (it was my goal originally), I was told by several doctors and universities that it is very difficult to break into marine mammal veterinary medicine. Essentially, they told me someone has to die in order for you to get a job.... Once people are picked for the very limited positions that exist, they stick with it for life. That at least was the advice and warning that most places in Florida offered when I was asking info on job prospects after veterinary school.

That's exactly the warning I've been given over and over again by vets in Miami, the UofM, Maine and Washington.

 

[MysteryCat]

My "plan B" is to pursue marine biology, and I would LOVE to go into marine mammal vet med, but the job outlook seems so darn bleak, I just don't think I can go after it. My plan is to go after emergency SA and go whale watching when I have spare time. I wish I lived closer to an aquarium so that I could at least get some fun and diverse experience though! Good luck!

 

[meowzers]

I took a summer course in Marine Mammals on the Gulf Coast thru Univ of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Lab. Here's a link http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/summer_field/docs/summer.field.program.brochure.2013.pdf
There are also other courses such as marine toxicology, parasites of marine animals, and marine embryology. Its a great experience and a great way to network. Undergrad research opportunities are available as well!

I learned a lot of physiology and just general biology about these animals that would certainly be helpful if you are interested in pursuing marine mammal med! My professor was actually a marine mammal biologist who worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service, but I think a differnt prof teaches it now. We had at least 1 boat trip/week where we went out and just observed dolphin behavior (or whatever other marine animal happened upon us)! There is one several day long trip you take out into the open ocean where you get the opportunity to observe more species of dolphins and whales. I definitely recommend it!

 

[kaydubs]

Kaydubs, you weren't recently on rotation in the wildlife clinic were you? Because I spoke to someone there who was doing AQUAVET this summer. Sorry if that's weird to ask. XD

haha nope.