Tag Archives: Jane Goodall

A Summer With Man’s Closest Living Relatives

  By Mariacamila Garcia Estrella • March 10, 2021 Uncategorized
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Tchimpounga at Sunset

In college, I fell in love with wildlife medicine and conservation. It’s a tough field to get into though, and at the time I didn’t know if I was really cut out for it. That all changed when I landed the internship of a lifetime with the Jane Goodall Institute at Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the Republic of Congo. This internship was part of Dr. Robin Radcliffe’s One Health course in partnership with Engaged Cornell and it was the first time it was ever offered. I was the first undergraduate student from Cornell to intern with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in Congo, so I really did not know what to expect. The internship was set up to pair a veterinary student with an undergraduate student to collaborate on a project for the summer. Unfortunately, my partner had a last minute complication and was unable to travel with me. I found this out the same day we were set to travel, just as I was about to catch my flight.

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Camila in the Noumbi River in Conkouati-Douli National park en route to a Mandrill release site

Needless to say, this was not the ideal way to start off my experience in Congo and I would be lying if I said my anxiety wasn’t at an all time high at the thought of having the entire project relying on me. I learned right off the bat that no amount of planning will ever prepare you for a field experience like this. Things can change on the fly so you have to be flexible and roll with the punches. The original project consisted of looking at the cortisol levels of chimpanzees to evaluate at which point in their rehabilitation process they were most stressed. This data would then be used to improve husbandry and rehabilitation practices. This wasn’t exactly what I ended up doing during my time at the sanctuary but I still go a lot out of the experience. In the end, I ended up assisting in several mini projects such as taking measurements of chimpanzees to create a morphometric index to establish malnutrition parameters, taking water cultures of all the sanctuary’s faucets to ensure the water given to the chimps was properly sanitized, shadowing Dr. Rebeca Atencia while she treated several chimpanzee patients and more. I even got to observe a collaring procedure on a Mandrill in the middle of Conkouati Douli National Park–quite literally in the middle of the jungle!

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Working in the lab with the staff at JGI

Despite the incredible experience I ended up having, the first two weeks in Congo were quite difficult for me; I was alone, inexperienced, and thousands of miles away from home. I considered going home several times. Being the first student they had ever hosted only further complicated the situation as there was not a fully established program yet. However, I wasn’t about to let the opportunity of a lifetime go to waste, so I tried to make the best of the situation. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone like never before. I taught myself many things, such as how to work a portable autoclave, how to make my own cell culture medium, and even some basic microbiology from old books the vet kept in the lab. Another big challenge I faced was communicating with the sanctuary staff. This was difficult because not many of them spoke English, so I had to overcome a cultural and language barrier. Thankfully, I was somewhat proficient in French, and this helped me to communicate with my Congolese colleagues. 

Despite all the personal challenges, the good definitely outweighed the bad. The friendships I made, both human and non-human, were what got me through those initial tough times. Every morning I would start my day by walking around the sanctuary to say good morning to the chimps. In time, I came to know every single one by name and learn about their unique personalities. Some of the chimps I connected to most were Alex, Mbebo, Betou, Lemba, Lounama, Falero (the baby of the bunch), and my favorite gal, Youbi. 

Drawing of Betou relaxing

These animals taught me so much about human instinct, and the more time I spent with them, the more I realized just how much they have in common with us. I learned how incredibly intelligent they really are, how cruel they can be, but also how kind and nurturing, not to mention hilarious.  The more time I spent with these animals the more it confirmed that wildlife/conservation medicine was the field for me. Though I still questioned if I had what it took, I got my answer one night when Youbi came into my life. 

Drawing of Camila and Youbi

One evening, the sanctuary was on high alert as we were to receive a new chimp from another sanctuary. This was Youbi. I remember the first time I saw her, she looked so tiny and fragile, could barely move and was basically a bag of bones. She was severely malnourished and anemic, as we soon found out. Youbi required an emergency blood transfusion. Dr. Rebeca Atencia, the head veterinarian selected Tchamaka as the donor, a strong, beautiful male chimp that lived at the sanctuary. We gave Youbi the transfusion, but were unable to anesthetize her fearing she wouldn’t wake up from anesthesia. Instead, some of the staff and I had to hold her down using our own strength. Chimpanzees are about four times stronger than the average person, so despite the extreme level of malnutrition/weakness she was in, it still took all the strength I had, plus that of another staff member to subdue Youbi while she received the transfusion. That transfusion worked wonders! It was as if with every drop of blood, Youbi regained a little bit of life back. For the next couple of days, I was tasked with feeding her, giving her her medicine, and providing enrichment. We would inject protein powder and iron supplements into all her food and after a few days she had the strength to move about the room.

Youbi and I formed a bond like no other I have ever experienced. Being with her and taking part in her rehabilitation made me realize that I definitely have what it takes to thrive in this field. It gave me a renowned sense of purpose and I knew then that I had found my calling. This was an experience I will never forget. I will always treasure the memories of my time in Congo.  I am so thankful for having had this opportunity.

 

Change of Summer Plans: from Field Work to Virtual Teaching

  By Laci Taylor • January 27, 2021 Uncategorized

Laci leading the Great Ape Team through their disaster preparedness scenario via Zoom

As an aspiring veterinarian interested in zoological medicine, I have tried my best to take advantage of all zoo and wildlife opportunities available to me. When I think about the kind of veterinary career I want to have, it is one where I can combine my interests in conservation, international travel and cultural immersion. For this reason, I am sure you can imagine my excitement when back in January, I was accepted to work at the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in Uganda for the summer of 2020. For eight weeks this summer, I would have been assisting the JGI team with disease monitoring in habituated chimpanzee populations, transmission analysis of infectious diseases between humans and chimpanzees, and community awareness. My proposed project aimed to reduce disease transmission risk for humans and wild-habituated chimpanzees in Kibale National Park to improve public health and conserve this endangered population of chimpanzees. I was particularly excited for this opportunity because it would have been my first veterinary experience that encompassed the topic of conservation with communities. Conservation with communities is an approach to conservation that includes the local people in an effort to make the conservation initiatives more sustainable. It is a concept that I am passionate about because I believe that involving the local community in conservation initiatives helps to better sustain these initiatives. 

Like many other students whose summer experiences were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I was devastated. Not only would I no longer get to participate in this once in a lifetime experience, but also I did not have any other summer opportunities lined up. Having traveled back home once classes went virtual, I was no longer able to work my hospital job as a student technician at the Wildlife Health Center and many local practices were not accepting new hires for safety reasons. As a result, I spent my first couple of weeks back home scrambling for summer experiences. That is, until one of my professors reached out to me about an opportunity to become a teaching assistant for his three-week virtual summer course on conservation. The course was offered through Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for credit and geared towards high school students. This would be the first time that the course would be virtual. Something I really enjoyed throughout my undergraduate career was teaching so I happily accepted the position.In undergrad, I gained teaching experience mainly through planning and leading educational activities through the student run organizations I was a part of, but this would be different. 

As a teaching assistant I had a lot of responsibilities. I was responsible for managing and organizing the course website, securing guest lecturers, managing discussion boards, creating and grading quizzes, developing course feedback surveys and providing feedback on and grading final projects among many other responsibilities. I was even responsible for creating and leading my own lectures and labs. Some of the topics I gave lectures on were the role of veterinarians in zoos, zoonotic diseases of companion animals, disease transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface and illegal wildlife trade. I was even able to integrate the concept of conservation with communities into some of my lectures! 

Laci presenting her lecture on African Penguin Conservation via Panopto

One of the activities I enjoyed leading the most was on disaster preparedness in a zoo setting. I worked closely with Dr. Abou-Madi to put this activity together which tasked students with acting as a cohesive team to build the different parts of a disaster prevention plan. Following a presentation on disaster preparedness and prevention, students were divided into teams each with a different animal grouping and their job was to look at all the different aspects that are necessary to best prepare and act quickly in the midst of a tropical storm to protect the animals in their grouping. The teams were also tasked with addressing the basic medical needs of the animals they were assigned to as part of their plan. For example, one student group had Komodo dragons as their animal grouping and some of the Komodo dragons had spinal lesions caused by salmonella while others were intermittent shedders of salmonella. In order to come up with an effective disaster prevention plan, students were encouraged to consider how they would secure and care for the animals during and after the storm hits, decide where to best locate the animals, and how to distribute the animals in the selected shelter among many other considerations. 

I did not quite know what I signed up for when I agreed to be a teaching assistant for the course, but I am so glad I did! Throughout my time as a teaching assistant, I gained organizational skills such as carrying out administrative tasks, and strategic planning and decision making. I also further developed my communication skills through teaching, interacting with students and through collaborating with the rest of the core course planning team. I was also able to develop critical thinking skills through coming up with creative ways to make virtual lectures and labs interactive and troubleshooting technical difficulties. Becoming a teaching assistant was a really great way to develop my soft skills and is an experience I highly recommend to other veterinary students. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laci Taylor, class of 2022, is a DVM student at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is interested in wildlife and aquatic medicine and hopes to make a global impact as a wildlife veterinarian. Laci hopes to promote biodiversity through rehabilitation and conservation – fields that serve as pathways for understanding many pertinent issues today from the transmission of zoonotic diseases which affect public health, to restoring endangered species.

Dinner Lecture: Conservation with communities

  By Jonathan Gorman • March 6, 2018 Uncategorized

What: Join ZAWS for a lecture from the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) veterinary team as part of the JGI Republic of Congo Program! Dr. Rebeca Atencia and Sofia Fernandez will discuss JGI initiatives in Congo as well as their experiences in conservation and global veterinary medicine.  Bring your own plates and utensils.

When: Tuesday March 13th, 6:00 PM

Where: Lecture Hall 4, the vet school

Chimpanzee Medicine in the Republic of Congo

  By ztd4 • November 1, 2017 Uncategorized

During the summer leading up to my third year of veterinary school, I worked with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in the Republic of Congo. As part of the college’s commitment to wildlife health and international medicine, Cornell has established a partnership with JGI through the Engaged Cornell Program. Engaged Cornell gives veterinary and undergraduate students the opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom to field sites in developing nations across the globe. Students can elect to take an on-campus course during the spring term and apply for the opportunity to continue their studies abroad during the summer. Upon return, they take a follow-up course in the style of a seminar series, to share their work with faculty and peers, and to learn about their classmates’ experiences. Thanks to Engaged Cornell, I was able to work at Africa’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary alongside one of the world’s leading experts in the field, Dr. Rebeca Atencia.

Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center is currently home to over 130 chimpanzees, most of which fell victim to the illegal bush meat and pet trades early on in life. Through the efforts of Dr. Atencia and her team of nurses and caregivers, these animals are being given a second chance. JGI is currently working to prepare a number of these chimpanzees for release back into the forest, where they will have the opportunity to live as wild apes once again. Before that can happen, however, they need to be both physically and psychologically fit to survive the harsh realities of life in the rainforest. My efforts this summer were put towards ensuring the capability of these chimps to thrive outside of the confines of the sanctuary.

Some of my time in Congo was spent performing routine “health checks,” or comprehensive physical exams, on animals under the care of JGI. I participated in the anesthesia, general examination, cardiac evaluation, and abdominal ultrasonography of over thirty chimpanzees. I learned basic skills such as taking blood pressure measurements, giving injections, and drawing blood, and more advanced skills such as abdominal ultrasound, echocardiography, and designing anesthesia regimes. I gained invaluable hands-on veterinary experience that I truly could not have gotten anywhere else.

Melissa Hanson describes the results of a chimpanzee electrocardiogram at the Tropical Biology and Conservation Symposium, October 2017.

In addition to medicine, I spent much of my time analyzing behavior and social interactions of the chimpanzees. I became versed in their verbal and non-verbal language, watched alliances form, and saw individuals rise to power and dominance within their community. A chimpanzee’s well-being relies heavily on its sense of security in its social group, and the health of a chimpanzee community depends on the degree of harmony amongst its members. The knowledge base I formed through careful observation was pivotal for my participation in data collection during the integration of new chimpanzees into established social groups. During an integration, JGI caregivers and veterinarians carefully record behaviors, to ascertain whether a chimp will be accepted by its conspecifics or not. Things happen very fast, so it is imperative that observers be well-acquainted with the chimps’ social cues. In time, I was confident enough with my skills to participate in this data collection, and even had the chance to make recommendations as to which individuals to introduce to the group.

My experience did not stop there, however. While in Congo, I also had the chance to work with a variety of unique native species, such as Mandrills, a Tree Pangolin, and African Grey Parrots. During time spent with JGI’s education and public health teams, I visited local villages to discuss conservation and sustainable agriculture with their people, as well as provide parasite preventatives for their pets. I also gained a lot of experience in the laboratory analyzing blood and fecal samples and screening for infectious disease among the chimps. Additionally, I participated in several ongoing research projects at Tchimpounga and even could explore some of my own interests and questions. One endeavor I am most proud of contributing to is the establishment of a preliminary body condition score (BCS) system for chimpanzees that will allow caregivers to monitor nutrition and well-being in a non-invasive manner. Hopefully, this scoring scheme will be used when the chimpanzees are being evaluated for their success in the forest after their release.

I am incredibly fortunate to have experienced all that I did this summer, and cannot thank the partners of JGI or Engaged Cornell enough for allowing me to pursue some of my greatest aspirations while still in veterinary school. Participating in chimpanzee medicine and rehabilitation allowed me to be a part of something much bigger than myself and to learn about a species with which I had never worked, but had always dreamed of. My time in Congo made me a better student, a better person, and will undoubtedly make me a better veterinarian in the years to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa is a third-year veterinary student from Cortlandt Manor, New York. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Duquesne University where she majored in biology and minored in biochemistry and history. Her interests are in clinical zoo and wildlife medicine and particularly rescue, rehabilitation, and release. She works as student technician at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center, a service of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals.