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This post is for the Week of July 9 to July 13… my birthday!!)
Hey, thanks for reading my blogs so far! I really hope you’ve been enjoying them – I know I’ve enjoyed writing them! This week I continue my wildlife studies back at Dr. Isabelle’s clinic.
But before I get into all that, I just wanted to give a quick recap on the owl from last week. We were hoping to take out the bone pin, but the injury is not healing all too well. I was able to take an x-ray of the wing (my first x-ray ever!), and we were just not happy with what we saw. Unfortunately, due to doctor-patient confidentiality I don’t think I am allowed to put the picture on Blogger, but instead here’s a picture of us performing physical therapy (stretching) on the wing:
If you want to see the picture of the x-ray, just email me at bditchik@gmail.com. Now, back to the weekly routine:
The day is Monday. We were supposed to get some type of bird to dissect and analyze its COD (cause of death), but an unexpected patient presented himself instead. Over the weekend, this poor dog was bitten by a Fer-de-Lance snake and died on the operating table in front of us. These snakes are highly venomous, and produce a hemotoxin that targets red blood cells and interferes with normal metabolism. The most common COD, to my knowledge, is hemorrhaging as a result of the blood thinning and pouring out of each blood vessel. In all honesty, it’s an awful way to die… and for a while we were really thinking that this dog was going to live. It was only after the necropsy that we realized the extent of damage done to this dog internally; with all its suffering, it truly is amazing to see how far man’s best friend will hide its pain to make us happy and hopeful.
…I don’t think anyone wants to see a picture of the dead dog, but if you are interested in seeing how the thinned blood pools in the body (and trust me, it’s pretty gross) all you have to do is email me at bditchik@gmail.com. I learned a powerful lesson that day to never pre-diagnose a successful recovery before the proper amount of time has passed. As a future vet, learning this now can only strengthen my resolve, though it really did affect me emotionally at the time…
Sorry about that, now onto the happier stuff!! The other half of Monday was spent analyzing bones and piecing the skeletons back together. We had a multitude of different organisms from coatimundis and opossums, to armadillos and bats, and even whale vertebrae! Each organism had its own unique body structure, and it was a lot of fun trying to figure out how everything fit together: It was a veterinary puzzle!
Whale Vertebrae
Turtle Skeleton
Opossum Skeleton - this is the one that I had to figure out.
Margay Skeleton - one of the five cats native to Belize.
Heron Skeleton - notice the modified rings along its neck.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent hanging out at the Belize Zoo. Unlike most zoos, there are no exotic animal species found within its walls… there really is no need for that. The Belize Zoo is chock full of animals native to the country, including many of the “problem” species such as barn owls, harpy eagles, and jaguars. Interestingly enough, not all jaguars are considered “problem” animals; only those who are used to people tend to be dangerous, mostly because they lose their fear over humankind. This was all stuff I learned during my stay at the zoo.
This is a picture of me getting licked by Junior-Buddy, the jaguar. For a small fee, guests can enter his exhibit and interact with this gentle giant.
Tapir - the national mammal of Belize.
Barn Owl - these birds have a horrible reputation in Belize, giving them the nickname "Devil Bird."
Jaguarundi - one of the five cats native to Belize.
Tuesday night was a lot of fun! When darkness finally hit, the entire class headed back to the zoo to go on a night-time tour. The whole place transformed overnight - it was like entering a wild safari, not knowing what could be lurking around the corner. Hungry pumas and kinkajous (nightwalkers) were ready for us, some of whom pounced on their exhibits when they saw us coming. It’s amazing how many nocturnal animals live around these parts!
Most snakes in Belize come out during the night...careful not to step on them!! Luckily, this Boa Constrictor was used to people.
Gibnut, aka: the Royal Rat - this is a common delicacy in Belize and was presented to Queen Elizabeth (of England) the last time she visited the country.
JAGUAR AMBUSH!!!
Puma - one of the five cats native to Belize.
Kinkajou - this is known locally as the "night walker" because of its extreme adversity to sunlight.
Then on Wednesday, after spending the last 24 hours touring the facility, it was time to help out as a volunteer zookeeper. My main jobs throughout the day were two-fold. First I was to help prepare the food for all of the carnivores. This basically entailed me pounding chickens for a good hour or two, making sure all of the bones and organs were soft enough for consumption. After that was done, it was time to feed them! Nothing is cooler than feeding a hungry jaguar, especially here at the Belize Zoo. For most of them, getting their food required them to rollover and give us a high-five. I could not have asked for a better trip to the zoo!
Feeding a Scarlet Macaw.
Dawwwww
Jaguar - one of the five cats native to Belize...the only one left I didn't mention is the Ocelot.
I'm pretty sure this video speaks for itself :P
Later that day (Wednesday), we travelled to an avian reintroduction center. The basic goal for reintroducing an animal back into the wild has one vital step: eliminate any connection that animal has to the human race. For parrots, this can mean the difference between freedom and being placed right back in captivity (since those closer to people will likely be the ones getting poached). Thus while we were there, it was really important not to speak out loud…the best way to desensitize an animal is to block out any sort of human presence. As such, I don’t really have many pictures of this place (sorry!)
Thursday seemed to be a hectic day for Dr. Isabelle. After giving us a quick lecture on reptiles, we had three patients to look over, the first of which was the owl I mentioned before. The second patient was a howler monkey who came in because of an abnormality of the bone near the eye socket. Most likely, this monkey has some type of bone infection but isn’t responding well to any type of antibiotic. All we were able to do this time around was take an x-ray of the patient before he started to come out of anesthesia. The last patient was another type of owl, an extremely rare one to be found in Belize. Unfortunately this animal could not be saved, and its x-rays showed a severe fracture found in its poor wing (indicating a possible COD as trauma)… Well, I guess you can’t save them all :/.
Once the patients were taken care of, we all took a trip down to a reptile herpetarium. There, we learned about all of the various venomous and nonvenomous snakes found in Belize. The owner was kind enough to show us how to capture and handle a rattlesnake (you know, the deadly poisonous ones...) Of course there were crocodiles and other types of reptiles at the herpetarium as well, but nothing stuck out more in my head than that rattlesnake!
Feeding a Crocodile (don't try this at home)!
Class on Friday was nothing special. We all had to take our finals, write a couple of reviews, and then give our final presentations to the class. My presentation was on Glass Frogs, and if you would like a copy of the PowerPoint just email me. They are pretty cool though… frogs that have a clear underbelly, allowing you to see all of their internal organs… Anyway, after class we all headed out to celebrate my birthday! I won’t get into too many details, but it basically entailed free banana splits, many games of foosball, a couple drinks, and a fun-filled night spent at a local karaoke bar. There really is nothing like spending your twenty-second birthday outside of the country!!
A refreshing glass of lime juice.
Talk to you all over the weekend!
~Bill
