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WILD LIFE: In chimpanzees, females contribute to the protection of the territory.

WILD LIFE: In chimpanzees, females contribute to the protection of the territory. Researchers have extensively studied several neighboring groups of western chimpanzees and their findings reveal that females and even the entire group may play a more important role in between-group competition than previously thought.



 They found that even though adult males seem important in territory increase, territory maintenance and competitive advantage over neighbors act through the entire group in this population of chimpanzees in the Taï National Park.


 In humans, warfare and territoriality have traditionally been considered male "business." Chimpanzees, with whom we share this propensity for out-group hostility and territoriality, are thought to follow the same gender difference.

Veterinary medicine: How to Stay Healthy at Animal Exhibits.

Veterinary medicine: How to Stay Healthy at Animal Exhibits.Interacting with animals at fairs, zoos, and aquariums can be educational and fun, but it’s important to remember that animals sometimes carry harmful germs that can make us sick. Learn how to stay healthy when visiting animal exhibits. There are many ways to explore the animal world, and many people choose to visit animal exhibits to learn about and interact with animals. Animal exhibits like zoos, petting zoos.Every year, many people get sick after visiting an animal exhibit. From 2010-2015, about 100 outbreaks of illness in people linked to animals in public settings like zoos, fairs, and educational farms were reported to public health officials. Some of the most common harmful germs people get from animals at exhibits are E. coli O157:H7, Cryptosporodium, and Salmonella infections, but there are also many other types of germs that can spread between animals and people. If you forget to wash your hands after petting an animal, or bring food or drinks into an area with animals, you increase your chance of getting sick. Even animals that look clean and healthy can carry harmful germs, and areas where animals live or roam can be contaminated – you don’t have to touch an animal to get sick. Steps to ensure safety. 1)Always wash your hands right after petting animals or touching anything in animal areas (where they live, roam, or eat). 2)Wash your hands when you leave animal areas, even if you did not touch the animals. 3)Running water and soap are the best option, if running water and soap are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. 4)Wash your hands with soap and water as soon as a sink is available. Keep food and drinks out of animal areas.Don’t prepare, serve, or eat food in animal areas (with the exception of service animals, or animals that assist people with disabilities).Don’t share your food with animals, to keep yourself and the animals healthy. Animals should eat the food made for them.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Urbanization may hold key to tiger survival.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Urbanization may hold key to tiger survival.Conservationists look at five human socioeconomic scenarios to better understand fate of endangered big cat.A new wildlife conservation society led study published in the journal Biological Conservation says the future of tigers in Asia is linked to the path of demographic transition -- for humans. The study marks the first-of-its-kind analysis that overlays human population scenarios with the fate of these endangered big cats. Prior to the 20th century, some experts estimate there were more than 100,000 tigers living in the wild; today that number is between 3000 -- 4000. At the same, over the last 150 years, the human population of Asia as grown from 790 million to over 4 billion, with dire consequences for tigers and other wildlife. But these trends are changing. The demographic transition is the process by which human populations peak and then go down. The researchers looked at different scenarios of economic, education, migration, and urbanization policy. In 2010, 57 million people lived in areas defined as "tiger conservation landscapes" that contained all of the world's remaining wild tigers. However, by 2100, depending on population trends, as few as 40 million people could be sharing space with tigers, or it could be as many as 106 million.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Transmission of antibiotic resistant E. coli mapped in wild giraffe social networks.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Transmission of antibiotic resistant E. coli mapped in wild giraffe social networks.A team has shown that antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria in wild giraffes most likely come from anthropogenic sources, such as local cattle herds and humans. The team from the University of Minnesota has shown that antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria in wild giraffes most likely come from anthropogenic sources, such as local cattle herds and humans. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They found that the majority of antibiotic resistance genes identified in giraffe E. coli had been previously identified in E. coli from both humans and domestic cattle in East Africa. Giraffes three months of age or younger were more likely to harbor antibiotic resistant E. coli than other age groups. This is a surprise as giraffe neonates nurse from their mothers exclusively and interact minimally with other group members, leading to a prediction they would have low exposure to resistant bacteria and residual antibiotics in their environment. The result suggest there may be competition between antibiotic resistant and susceptible E. coli strains in the giraffe neonatal gut, with resistant E. coli having a selective advantage.

FAIRY QUEEN PARK..

Virtual Tour

PARROT GETS A NEW BEAK WITH 3D PRINTING.

The most revolutionary applications of 3D printing technology can be found in academic hospitals around the world, where numerous patients have already received life-changing and sometimes even life-saving 3D printed prostheses and implants. These medical solutions can not only be used by us humans, but also our animal companions. Gray Kid, a lucky parrot can now eat normally again, after receiving a 3D printed beak at the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo in China. Gray Kid isn’t the first animal to receive a 3D printed implant or prosthetic, but it is still quite a rare thing. He is now part of a select group of animals, that also includes Fred the tortoise and Derby the dog, who have all received custom-made, 3D printed implants or prosthetics that give them a chance at a normal life. Gray Kid’s case, a normal life was almost completely out of the question. Though a very handsome parrot, his beak was recently almost completely destroyed. Gray Kid lives at the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo in China with a flock of his species, but unfortunately gang fights sometimes happen among parrots. During one of those fights, Gray Kid lost most of his beak. And that damage was more than just cosmetic, as breeder Liu Wei revealed. Gray Kid was left unable to pick up big pieces of fruit and could not chew on nuts at all. The unfortunate bird could only eat crushed foods by licking it up with his tongue, but without a beak he couldn’t defend his meals from greedy companions either. “If this situation continued, it would have definitely threatened his health and even his life,” Liu Wei said. 3D printing offered a solution, the Hongshan Zoo animal hospital veterinarian Cheng Wang Kun began looking into a 3D printing solution, and fortunately the Nanjing Additive Manufacturing Research Institute caught wind of that idea. They offered to sponsor a 3D printed beak for Gray Kid. As Cheng Wang Kun explained, they brought another, healthy parrot to the research institute for 3D scanning, giving the 3D printing specialists a good notion of the dimensions of the necessary beak replacement. The 3D scanning data was used to design a customized 3D printable beak, which was completed and 3D printed in resin within just a day. Though the 3D printed beak was ready to go, it could not be installed so easily. Gray Kid’s beak suffered from irregular shedding, preventing the surgeons from simply screwing it on. They therefore had to adjust the shape of the 3D printed beak slightly. The anesthetized bird was subsequently brought into the operating room. “We connected the 3D printed beak to the remnants of the original beak successfully, and then fixed it into place with a bone nail,” the surgeon explained. All in all, the procedure only took about thirty minutes. The worries were not quite over yet. As Liu Wei explained, there was still a good chance that Gray Kid rejected the prosthesis. To everyone’s surprise, the bird did not display any self-mutilating behavior, nor did he try to destroy or damage the new beak. In fact, he was very careful with it, and within just two days Gray Kid was seen flexibly using it to eat and drink alongside a companion. He looked, they say, comfortable. The 3D printed beak and the gray bone nail were very noticeable, but the companion bird also did not attack or bully the recovering Gray Kid. Perhaps he felt a bit guilty? This 3D printing solution thus seems to be a complete success, which is even more remarkable as it is the first time Hongshan Zoo used 3D printing as an animal health solution. They have already hinted that this positive experience has convinced them to use advanced technologies more often in the future, if it can benefit the animals. Read more(http://www.3ders.org/articles/20160417-gray-kid-the-parrot-can-eat-again-after-receiving-a-3d-printed-beak-at-chinese-zoo.html)

VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY.

South Texas Veterinary Ophthalmology staff members gathered to see the unique patients: a long-tailed macaque monkey and a ring-tailed lemur. Clad in scrubs of different hues, the intrigued staff members surrounded Dr. Andrew Greller as he examined Igor the monkey and Baraka, the lemur. The pair are residents of Primarily Primates, a sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals located in far West Bexar County. At the reserve, Igor kept bumping into things and sweeping his hands in front of him, as if he couldn’t see. A scattered row of warts, like erasers atop pencils, hung under his brow, possibly the source of the problem. For Baraka, the problem was a grape-sized growth jutting from the side of his left eye. After the 25-year-old macaque’s regular veterinarian, Dr. Valerie Kirk, sedated him at the veterinary opthalmologists’ office, Greller leaned over the mammal known in science terms as Macaca Fascicularis and snipped away the warts that caused the macaque’s eyes to droop. After using an indirect ophthalmoscope headset to look in the retina, Greller said Igor’s retina looked normal and the lack of sight could be a neurological issue. Most dogs that come to the office have advanced eye disease. The biggest challenge is having a comprehensive knowledge base on all of the different species presented, especially since they can’t tell me about their eye problems,” Greller said. The most challenging case to date came two years ago when he removed a porcupine quill from the back part of an English springer spaniel’s eye. He had to surgically cut eye muscles to remove the quill, but the dog still maintained a bit of vision after the operation. The obvious signs of eye problems are squinting, which can be a sign of pain; a bloodshot eye; or a foggy, blue eye. Greller‘s fascination with ophthalmology can be traced back to third grade. An ophthalmologist helped him when a classmate threw glitter into his eye. The specialist numbed his eye to take out the tiny bits to prevent permanent damage. Greller was marveling at his latest patient, lying on pads and folded towels. It was the first lemur he had ever treated. Under an intense beam of overhead light, Greller shaved fur from around the sedated lemur’s open, orange eyes with battery-operated clippers. “It’s a very cool retina,” he said, before cutting away the bulbous mass on the side of Baraka’s eye. Kirk sent the lid tumor off for analysis. “I’m pretty confident we got all of it,” Greller said. “It’s most likely a benign tumor.” source; NZ herald

San Diego Zoo flamingos recently had annual physicals.

According to San Diego(CBS8) the zoo flamingos received their annual physicals.A group of nearly 100 Caribbean flamingos were corralled into a holding area near the Flamingo Lagoon Wednesday morning. From there, they each underwent a health exam, featuring a west Nile vaccination and physical inspection. The birds have been front and center at the zoo for more than 50 years.

ELEPHANT INFECTED 7 ZOO WORKERS WITH TUBERCULOSIS.

Seven employees of an Oregon zoo contracted tuberculosis from three elephants in their care in 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.The staff members at the Oregon Zoo in Portland were infected with a latent form of the respiratory illness and therefore displayed no symptoms and were not contagious, a report published by the CDC said. The CDC report on the outbreak pointed to a lack of research about tuberculosis in elephants. It also called for improved screening to detect the disease because the present method of detection – taking cultures – may miss some cases or result in false positives.Jennifer Vines, deputy health officer for Multnomah County, whose office worked with the CDC on its report, said the investigation did not conclude that tuberculosis is highly transmissible between elephants and people. About 5 percent of captive Asian elephants in North America, like the ones in Portland, are believed to have tuberculosis, the CDC said. Human-to-elephant transmission was first identified in 1996 and there have been a handful of cases in recent years in Tennessee and elsewhere.The outbreak prompted the Portland zoo to say it would conduct more frequent tuberculosis tests of both animals and staff through at least June 2016. The outbreak was identified in May 2013 when a routine annual check of elephants found that a 20-year-old bull named Rama was infected.Rama’s father, 51-year-old Packy, also tested positive as did Tusko, a 44-year-old former circus performer. Public health officials do not know the cause of the outbreak. The CDC said it was possible that a zoo volunteer diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2012 may have spread the disease to the elephants.The zoo’s other elephants were not infected, nor were another roughly 100 people who were near the three sickened bull elephants. story source;http://newsdaily.com/2016/01/elephants-infected-seven-oregon-zoo-workers-with-tuberculosis-cdc/

VETERINARY MEDICINE: HOW TO START AN ANIMAL RESORT AND FUN SPOT.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: HOW TO START AN ANIMAL RESORT AND FUN SPOT.

BIRD WATCH.

ZOO VET; ENSURING ANIMAL HEALTH.

BIRD FLU # THE WAY FORWARD.

The bird flu virus has affected more birds and man in certain countries, and all around the world hands are on deck to stop the virus. The basic concept is to educate the populace about the virus,the signs/symptoms,the bio security protocol that must be put in place to stop the virus and also what to do in cases of outbreak in poultry or infection in man. The approach is hygiene and isolation; ensuring that the proper agents are used correctly in bio security protocol. There are numerous agents used on farms,hospitals e.t.c to disinfect them,but the agent that readily comes to mind at this time of bird flu outbreak is VIRKON® S,as it has been proven to kill the bird flu virus among over pathogens. The issue of bio security is on going,more and more approaches to secure our farms have been birthed to help the farmers,in line with this i had a talk with some poultry farmers to educate them and give practical tips on how to handle the bird flu virus. When there is an outbreak, all the birds in the poultry / aviary/zoo will be culled and the place decontaminated and quarantined to prevent spread of the virus.In the wake of the bird flu virus saga,some birds in a zoo were infected,so all other birds in the facility had to be culled. We can stop the bird flu virus! start now!