Zoo Internquest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
While conservation efforts can be made directly within an animal's natural habitat, they are also made right in our backyard at the San Diego Zoo! This week my fellow interns and I were honored to meet with Dr. Meg Sutherland-Smith to discuss veterinary services at the Zoo and how she is working hard to ensure that all of the animals that she sees daily are cared for and healthy. Dr. Sutherland-Smith works with hundreds of animals hands-on to ensure that all of the animals at the Zoo are healthy enough to live and reproduce. By encouraging the reproduction of the animals in its collection, the Zoo is able to preserve as many species as possible and fight extinction.
Dr. Sutherland-Smith attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate, and eventually went on to earn her masters in biochemistry. After deciding to become a veterinarian, Dr. Sutherland-Smith knew she wanted to work hands on with various exotic animals. Since being hired at the San Diego Zoo in 1990, Dr. Sutherland is now the Director of Veterinary Services and oversees the entire Veterinary Services Department. Dr. Sutherland-Smith enjoys how rewarding it is to treat the thousands of different animals at the Zoo and expressed that there is no other place she would rather work.
Seeing anywhere from four to ten animals daily, the Hospital staff at the Zoo is vital to the health and well-being of the thousands of animals in the Zoo’s collection. Dr. Sutherland-Smith works alongside a staff of veterinarians to administer exams, checkups, radiographs, and surgical procedures to any of the animals brought into the Hospital. With the help of cutting-edge medical technology, the Hospital staff is able to ensure that all procedures go smoothly, and are comfortable for the animal patients. Due to the frequency of surgical procedures at the hospital, anesthesia is used to sedate animals and prep them for surgery. One of the more common ways animals at the Zoo are sedated is through the use of darts.
With the help of a vario-pistol and a two-chamber dart system, pressure is utilized to ensure that the dart reaches the desired animal as well as delivers the correct amount of sedative. After the animal is sedated, the veterinarians at the hospital hook the animal up to an anesthesia machine which is equipped with a ventilator to ensure that the animal can breath. Before the procedure begins, anesthesia is administered in a gaseous form to ensure that the animal does not wake up during the procedure. In addition to the ventilator, veterinarians at the Zoo also use endotracheal tubes to ensure that the animal continues to breath throughout the entire procedure. The endotracheal tube is inserted through the mouth of an animal with the help of laryngoscope, which helps the veterinarians visualize the trachea before inserting the tube. A pulse oximeter is also used during surgery to monitor the animal’s heart rate as well as their SPO2, which is a measure of how well the blood is being oxygenated in the animal’s body. With the help of this technology, the veterinarians at the Zoo’s Hospital are able to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the surgical procedures performed.
Another form of advanced technology that the veterinary Hospital uses is computed tomography, or a CT machine. This machine uses radiation to help with the diagnosis and treatment of animals. These scans can help veterinarians at the Hospital to recognize broken bones, tumor growth, disruptions in the digestive tract, and much more. After getting to see this machine up close, my fellow interns and I were happy to meet with Dr. Ben Nevitt who is also a Veterinarian at the Hospital. Dr. Nevitt utilizes these CT scans to help the other veterinarians at the hospital, as well as the keepers who work alongside the animals in the Zoo, to visualize what is wrong with the animal and what procedures they should take to ensure that the animal in question is comfortable and cared for.
By treating the thousands of animals at the Zoo and making the health of the animals the utmost priority, Dr. Sutherland-Smith and Dr. Nevitt, with the help of the other veterinarians at the Zoo’s hospital, are helping to preserve hundreds of species of animals and fight extinction right here in San Diego. With the help of all of these amazing veterinarians, the animals at the Zoo are healthy enough to reproduce and ensure that their species remains at the Zoo with the end goal of releasing future generations back into the wild. Please continue to read the blog posts that my fellow interns and I post each week to continue alongside us on this amazing and unforgettable journey!
Cole, Conservation Team
Week Two, Winter Session 2019
