What are the Biggest Challenges in Wild Animal Medicine.

I received this question as a text message this morning from a fellow student of Veterinary Medicine here in Central Western Brazil. This is a good questionand to try to condense it into a blog article is quite a challenge.  It is a good job that I like challenges.

You can tackle this issue from as many different angles as you like.  Some issues are as follows:

• Species
• Veterinarian's experience with the species
• What is the background to the case - why has the animal been brought into the clinic?
• Does the animal have a notifiable disease
• Is the animal an endangered species
• Is it a dangerous animal
• What country is the treatment taking place in
• Is there much published information on the animal
• If a young animal, is it going to need feeding on milk and what kind of formula should be used?

Let's rationalise this further still, from two approaches, that of the Veterinary Surgeon and Conservation Biologist.

From the vet's point of view if it is a dangerous animal it is going to have to be sedated.  This needs to be done appropriately. Getting the right dosage depends upon knowing the patient's weight. In a developed country it may not be too difficult to acquire sedation equipment and to liaise, using a reliable and clear telephone line, with vets who have the necessary experience.  They can refer the vet to the literature, or offer tips.  Or if the practice specialises in wildife then there may already be an in-house body of knowledge that can be drawn upon.

If the patient is being treated in an emerging economy then the practice may not specialise in wildlife, may not have an in-house body of knowledge to draw upon, may have limited ability to access foreign- or English-language clinical/surgical literature or case studies, the necessary sedation equipment (blowpipe) may be in the hands of one individual who may be unavailable.
Veterinarians have a duty of care to animals regardless of species or level of endangerment.  However, if the animal is a protected species - and in the case of Brazil all wildlife species are protected by law - then in the majority of circumstances it has to be collected post-treatment by a government biologist for rehabiliation and release. I won't discuss methods of release - hard and soft; these are beyond the scope of this article. If the animal has a notificable disease and/or a zoonosis such as rabies, then there may be no question but to seek the advice of colleagues before taking further measures.

Post-treatment care. 

If you are in Brazil, then I have already dealt with this above.  The patient will most likely have been brought in by a government biologist or other authority and will be collected by the same person. Then the patient may be taken to a holding facility until such time that it can be taken into the wild for release.  Usually these would be hard releases (the animal is freed and left to fend for itself) rather than soft release where the animal is provided with some sort of relief such as shelter or food and water. Post-release survival rates are difficult to monitor.

If in an industrialised country such as the United Kingdom, then the species may be a pest species (Red Fox Vulpes vulpes), protected but not threatened (Badger Meles meles) or protected and endangered (Red Kite Milvus milvus). Such cases require different approaches. 

Take-home Notes

• Unweaned very young mammalian patients will need to be raised on milk substitute made up using the right formula.
• In many countries the exotic pet trade is barely recognised and wild out-patients will be taken by the authorities for release.
• If the animal has a notifiable disease then liaise with colleagues.
• Make sure the medical team, and patient, are safe before dealing with the wild patient.
• All wild animals are unpredictable.

Motivational Quote for Veterinary Students and Those in Mid-life Crisis

"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances." Benjamin Franklin.