Zoo Vet Hopefuls

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Nechochwen

Nechochwen

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I know there are some other (older) threads talking about zoo vets, zoo medicine, zoo experience, zoo internships, zoo externships, zoo preceptorships and those that are interested in the previously mentioned; but I was wondering who all now is thinking/planning on being a zoo vet?

I spoke with an LSU vet student at their open house, and they said that they usually had one or two students per class that were interested in zoo medicine. Is it that small of a group? I guess that may be good with so few jobs available.

Besides, if we do become zoo vets, wouldn't it be neat to have known each (at least electronically) from the beginning.

Also, any of you who posted back in 2007/2008 about this, are you still leaning towards zoo medicine?
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If you think this is what you want to do, make sure you get experience in this area. I thought I wanted to be a zoo vet and after I had an internship with one, I totally changed my mind against.
 
Totally agree with you. It's a very different experience that the "typical"? vet clinic experience.

I've been working in a zoo setting since I was about 14 though, so I think I have a feel for it. In fact, I started working at a local small animal clinic recently and it is so different. I'm just not used to being able to just hold and restrain an animal for an examination. I do worry that starting with a zoo mindset will hurt me in vet school where so much of the education is aimed at domestic animals.
 
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I wouldn't worry about it! They will be sure to teach you everything you need to know to be comfortable dealing with domestics. You'll be great.

I just wanted to encourage people to try out zoo med first because it definitely wasn't what I expected. It was a lot of research and sitting around because most of the time animals weren't sick. I like being constantly on the go.
 
I'm a zoo vet hopeful! I thought our type had a larger gathering! haha. I've worked in three different zoos (as a keeper in two and with a vet in two). I love zoos. I'm sure vet school will tell me for sure if there's something I find that I love even more, but for now it's my current goal!
 
It can be frustrating to be zoo med oriented. In my experience, zoo med is a lot less nebulous. Normal values aren't often known, and zebras are more common than horses in diagnostics. Narrowing out environmental impacts affecting health vs actual dz states is hard. There is a lot of extra work, and you will never 'know' everything. There are a lot more stakeholders involved in the medicine in the zoo world. pay isn't great and positions are few. a lot of people do 'glorify' vet med, and it is hard work for low pay....but it is also amazing. There are still more folks interested in it than positions....remember, 2-3 per school per class for the past couple of decades = lots more vets than zoos. And some schools, like ours, have closer to 6 per class.

If I don't get into zoo med, I will probably do SA exotics private practice. But I would really prefer to be in the zoo world. I spent quite a few years putting 60+ hours a week in at the zoo, and I loved it, day in and day out.

I do get frustrated learning so much about SA because the applicable focus in zoo med is pretty narrow...and I do feel at times I am behind those who recognize stuff from their clinical experience in SA. But, it is still relevant.
 
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not going towards zoo but that reminded me of zoogirl!!! i think it was her who LIVED in a zoo lol i wonder where she is :confused:

also, futurezoovet!
 
Nechochwen said:
Yeah zoogirl's childhood made me a little envious. It's hard to beat that kind of experience.
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eh dont worry, i'm sure she is the ONLY person in the whole country's c/o 2014 who has that on their resume lol. I mean, look at the chances of going to her school (in the zoo), the chances that these kids want to be vets, the chance that they actually do well in science to be pre-vet, and then the chance they apply and get in lol pretty rare
 
My current plan is to become board-certified in general zoo medicine. Lofty goals for a first year, but the more I learn about zoo medicine the more I really want to do it. If it doesn't pan out for some reason - there's always wildlife :)
 
I'm interested in some kind of medicine with wild animals. I don't have experience in a zoo, just with a wildlife rehab place. We'll see how things go though. If I don't end up with the wild ones at first, it'll probably be mixed or exotics.
 
I'm also on the zoo med route. I remember hearing from a lot of people during orientation saying they were also on that route. I'd say there are maybe 10ish people in our class who are interested in zoo med to at least some extent but are also keeping their options open to other things. There are closer to 2 people (myself included) who are pursuing it very actively.

I am going in with my eyes wide open. I have worked in a zoo hospital and I am fully aware that the pay isn't the best and the hours suck, but it is what I want to do so I am going for it.
 
How close is conservation medicine to zoo medicine?

I'm kinda obsessed with conservation, but I have no real experience with it besides taking a wildlife conservation class/lab

I am mostly leaning SA right now, but I at least want to be able to think about conservation medicine since its something I've cared about and preach about to people so much haha
 
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that70sfan11 said:
How close is conservation medicine to zoo medicine?

I'm kinda obsessed with conservation, but I have no real experience with it besides taking a wildlife conservation class/lab

I am mostly leaning SA right now, but I at least want to be able to think about conservation medicine since its something I've cared about and preach about to people so much haha
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You can do both at the same time. I know a vet at the Wild Animal Park who works at the vet hospital there but is always traveling to work on conservation projects. She has gone to Mexico to work with Thick-Billed Parrots and to Africa to work on.. rhinos? (I don't quite remember). But here is a link to a blog about the thick billed parrot trip (there's 3 parts to the blog).

http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/08/19/thick-billed-parrots-preparing/

I thought that zoo medicine was my passion too, but then I realized that I would be very limited in what I can do for conservation medicine. There are so many brilliant scientists at the zoo, striving for conservation, but there is just no funding most of the time. That is why I plan on working for the government and tapping into their funds to save the animals :p
 
I'm a potential zoo-vet hopeful. I hope to start volunteering at the zoo this fall so I can hopefully needle my way in with the vet eventually. I wouldn't mind general zoo vet though I think I'd love to work with marine mammals, especially at SeaWorld. I don't know much about the field, but it is certainly one of my interests.
 
It's nice to hear from other people interested in zoo med.

Nohika, definitely do some volunteering. Zoo medicine definitely requires some first-person experience to form an opinion on. The cetacean classes do look interesting, but I'm sure that's just a competitive specialty in a competitive specialty. I wouldn't mind knowing more though.

I haven't heard too much about conservation medicine; wildlife medicine I have heard some.
 
Yea, I agree with the first hand experience comment. I used to want to be a zoo vet, but my opinion changed after gaining experience and realizing how much politics is involved with working in a zoo. Also, hearing about the lifestyle was a large turn-off. I realized that I would not have time to both have a family and be a zoo veterinarian. It was a tough decision, but I am so glad that I took the time to work in a zoo and talk to a zoo veterinarian.
 
Nechochwen said:
It's nice to hear from other people interested in zoo med.

Nohika, definitely do some volunteering. Zoo medicine definitely requires some first-person experience to form an opinion on. The cetacean classes do look interesting, but I'm sure that's just a competitive specialty in a competitive specialty. I wouldn't mind knowing more though.

I haven't heard too much about conservation medicine; wildlife medicine I have heard some.
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-nods- Unfortunately the orientation classes are full at the zoo until August, which is why I have to wait. It's not something I'm dead-set on or anything - just something I'd like to consider in the future, y'know? I like having options. :smuggrin: Can't wait for my VMSAR to get here soon...

Edit: Oh, and lifestyle isn't too bad of a thing/consideration for me. I've had a crummy outlook on things for so long that I don't care how bad the lifestyle is as long as I love what I do. Also...I can't get pregnant so no kids, even if I do get married. xD
 
luvgoldens482 said:
Yea, I agree with the first hand experience comment. I used to want to be a zoo vet, but my opinion changed after gaining experience and realizing how much politics is involved with working in a zoo. Also, hearing about the lifestyle was a large turn-off. I realized that I would not have time to both have a family and be a zoo veterinarian. It was a tough decision, but I am so glad that I took the time to work in a zoo and talk to a zoo veterinarian.
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I'm interested in wildlife/zoo med but have only been involved in the research and rehab side of things, not in a zoo. Can you please explain in more detail what the lifestyle of a zoo vet is usually like and how it interferes with family?

Can you also tell me about the caseload? In one of the earlier posts someone said that there was often not much to do b/c the animals were all healthy? But aren't there health checks to be done every day, possibly under sedation even?
 
I am interested in both wildlife and zoo med. My ultimate goal is to work at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I am now volunteering in the hospital of a wildlife rehabilitation center and like it so much better than small animal practice. Quit my paying job in SA to volunteer w/ wildlife. :) Does anyone know any info about LSU's program for wildlife/zoo med? I know it's called BEZM, but I don't really know that much about it.
 
Slightly OT, but what's the job outlook for wildlife veterinarians? From what I can gather, most wildlife rehabbers are volunteer. Is there a *paid* wildlife veterinary position somewhere (beyond the big wildlife parks, I mean)?

Or is it really a hobby that you undertake while working in another related field?
 
The Omaha Zoo is nice too.

According to their web site, they offer two/three year residencies in a variety of fields, one of which is zoological medicine.

I'm not sure what BEZM is, I guess I'm out of the loop.

I have looked at the elective classes offered and I think I have my next couple of years planned.

LSU SVM also has an exotics club, so that's a plus. And there's Mike...

Wish I knew more.
 
I'm a potential zoo/wildlife vet. I have a hard time deciding what field of vet med I would like to go into though (First step however, is getting into vet school!). Do any of you want to work in other vet fields as well? Like SA/LA?, I love them all. In an ideal world I would work in them all... It could be done...

I've experienced both captive zoo and wildlife. If I had to pick between the two I would really like the work with wildlife. I worked with a bit of wildlife here in canada and I did some wildlife work in Africa this past summer and absolutely love it. I've learnt that if you want to pursue wildlife work on rhinos, you need to learn how to climb trees!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
not going towards zoo but that reminded me of zoogirl!!! i think it was her who LIVED in a zoo lol i wonder where she is :confused:
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I am HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haha. I haven't been checking SDN as much because I have been so busy with school!
Yeah.... I highly doubt there is anyone else that lives in a zoo... Sometimes its still crazy to believe that it has really been my life the past 14 years....
I am so thankful to my Daddy!!

I am heading towards Zoo Med, eventually.
It is a LONG road to get there!! To really get in at a zoo, somebody pretty much has to croak or retire.
lol

I am hoping that the small animal/exotic vet that I work for currently is going to see me his practice after I get out of vet school in 4 years. He has mentioned it to me twice!
He is also the vet for my zoo, so if I could take over that, I would be pretty excited.

But i'm not sure if I am leaning towards complete zoo med. There is no money in zoo med! haha.
And as money isn't everything, if I can get my zoo fix in while being a mixed practice vet as well (part time for both), it will be pretty satisfying!




For those of you applying next year with zoo experience, make sure you get a lot of other different experiences as well! Variety is the key!!
:D
 
Chapelle said:
I'm interested in wildlife/zoo med but have only been involved in the research and rehab side of things, not in a zoo. Can you please explain in more detail what the lifestyle of a zoo vet is usually like and how it interferes with family?

Can you also tell me about the caseload? In one of the earlier posts someone said that there was often not much to do b/c the animals were all healthy? But aren't there health checks to be done every day, possibly under sedation even?
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For many reasons, I decided that I desired general practice much more than zoo med (schedule, interaction with clients, health checks of patients that aren't under sedation, etc.). I also realized that if I were to become a zoo vet, my job would be my life. It is a great field, but I prefer one that allows me to work part time eventually when I have kids, go on vacation every once in a while, and interact with clients on a daily basis. It is really a personal preference, just make sure you know what your preferences are and keep an open mind :).

Edit: Oh, and the politics of zoos was really one of the larger deal breakers. Make sure you are ready to deal with that too!
 
Chapelle said:
What organization/individual did you work with?
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I went with African Conservation Experience (ACE).
The company was awesome, very accommodating and took very good care of their students. The only draw back is it is pretty expensive. But to me it was worth every penny. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I got to see and participate in some amazing things.

I spent 6 weeks working on a wildlife rehabilitation centre and 6 weeks working with a wildlife veterinarian. I love them both, but I liked working with the vet so much more. I actually lived at his house, and basically went with him everyday to do wildlife veterinary work. It was AMAZING.
PM me if you want more details.

There are other programs/companies out there that offer wildlife vet/rehab work, just something to look into I guess. They all have different things to offer, so you would have to decide what you want to get out of it.
 
Hi All, great topic choice :D I'm also interested in Zoo medicine (hope my name didn't give it away). I too am a proponent to getting a well rounded VetMed experience. Zoo medicine is very different from anything else you see out there. Although most vets deal in preventative medicine, a zoo veterinarian does so a bit less hands-on than anyone else. I started this tract through wildlife rehabilitation in PA and then in Africa (Kenya). I got my zoo experience via (much like zoogirl) my father working in a Zoo. Working with vets there and watching them form an attachment to animals that you would normally see in Alaska, Africa and Australia really presented a "Wow!" factor to me.

I agree with the majority, zoo medicine is not like any private domestic practice that I know of. In many instances you are learning as you go can not rely on too many prior documented cases of the majority of illnesses. In most cases the Zoo Veterinarian is writing the book as they go (something that I find particularly intriguing).
 
In case you other zoo/wildlife people were unaware, Rep. Alcee Hastings (Florida) has introduced the Wildlife and Zoological Veterinary Medicine Enhancement Act of 2010 to Congress. I've glanced through it (will read through it when I have time) and I like what I've seen so far. If passed it will create job opportunities, scholarship, training programs, loan repayment programs, etc. It is AWESOME that this is on the table!

AVMA statement: http://www.avma.org/advocacy/federal/legislative/issue_briefs/wildlife_zoo_med_enhancement_act.asp
Summary: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4497&tab=summary
Full text: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4497
 
Yeah, that bill has got me kinda hopeful. It's a long way from doing anything, but there's a chance.

According to what I've read though, it's been in a sub-committee for awhile. I hope that's not just a way of letting the bill die. The School House Rock song didn't talk about sub-committees.

Hmm...I wonder if I should be writing a congressman right about now?
 
Yeah, I really liked it. Not a bad window it to a broad scope of what zoo/wildlife vets do. The chapter about transporting the whale shark to the Georgia Aquarium was cool. I never really thought about what it must be like to be the vet responsible for the largest fish in the world.

Also, "We Bought a Zoo" isn't too bad either. Gives more of the zoo director side of the field. A lot of people have pointed out the politics involved in the zoo career and this book gives a glimpse of that.
 
rhinocerotidae said:
I went with African Conservation Experience (ACE).
The company was awesome, very accommodating and took very good care of their students. The only draw back is it is pretty expensive. But to me it was worth every penny. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I got to see and participate in some amazing things.
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This looks like an amazing program. I'm not a zoo med person, but I'd really love to get some wildlife and conservation experience sometime and I will be bookmarking their website!
 
I used to be torn between zoo medicine and private practice exotics. My major is Zoology and for my concentration we were required to do an internship so I did one at a zoo. I am so thankful I did because it made me realize that I don't want to be a zoo vet. I want to be more hands on with the animals I practice on and i'd prefer to work with more live animals than dead. The zoo vet I worked with did necropsies more than he treated live animals! There was also a lot of paper pushing. That's not the life for me.
For anyone that may be interested in zoo medicine I 1,000,000% recommend working at a zoo - it'll open your eyes and you'll figure out quite fast if it's the road for you.
Private practice exotics it is!
 
This is an interesting topic, thanks to those who contributed. I'd like to add that, for those of us interested in captive exotics but not interested in zoo med (b/c of politics, low pay, bad schedule, etc), there are quite a number of sanctuaries in the US (and world) that provide permanent homes to abused or confiscated exotics. One place you can learn more about sanctuaries here in the states is through TAOS (The Association of Sanctuaries). One of the things that I like most about sanctuaries is that they often don't need a full-time vet, so many vets who work for such sanctuaries are also private practice, LA or shelter vets. The only downside is that most sanctuaries aren't located in, or even near, large cities so you may find yourself in the middle of nowhere.
 
I am also interested in zoo med and somehow incorporating veterinary forensics, perhaps by specializing in pathology. I would love to work for the US Fish & Wildlife Crime lab investigating their poaching cases, for example. I worked with an exclusively avian vet for several years and loved it (though think I may have lost some of my hearing!). It was challenging because birds are so sensitive to drugs and susceptible to infections, but it was an interesting experience. My passion, though, has always been equine medicine, and will probably become an equine vet (thinking about pathology, such as working for the ASPCA and studying equine cases). I know one thing for sure....I don't want to work in a small animal practice.
 
Whyevernot55 said:
This looks like an amazing program. I'm not a zoo med person, but I'd really love to get some wildlife and conservation experience sometime and I will be bookmarking their website!
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You should go! What better way to experience wildlife then working on the big 5 + others!
I would recommend it for anyone! I loved everything about it. It's not just the wildlife aspect that makes the project amazing, but the opportunity to live in South Africa, especially amongst the local communities and see their way of life. It definitely changed my outlook on a lot of things.

lyndaelyzoo said:
I would love to work for the US Fish & Wildlife Crime lab investigating their poaching cases
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.

That's awesome! I've never meet anyone who's been interested in that before!
 
Do you think it's a good thing to bring up in your personal statement? Zoo medicine is what I'm really interested in: I'm really intrigued by the idea of doing research AND practising medicine with exotics species in a zoo setting. Plus, I've always been conflicted about how I feel about zoos from a moral standpoint, and I think it would be really fulfilling to know I was in a position to help make a zoo as beneficial for the animals as possible. BUT, I've got no large animal experience, and only a dozen hours so far at wildlife rehab: do you think that instead it would look like I'm overly-idealistic and don't know what I'm getting myself into?
 
Will Scarlet said:
Do you think it's a good thing to bring up in your personal statement? Zoo medicine is what I'm really interested in: I'm really intrigued by the idea of doing research AND practising medicine with exotics species in a zoo setting. Plus, I've always been conflicted about how I feel about zoos from a moral standpoint, and I think it would be really fulfilling to know I was in a position to help make a zoo as beneficial for the animals as possible. BUT, I've got no large animal experience, and only a dozen hours so far at wildlife rehab: do you think that instead it would look like I'm overly-idealistic and don't know what I'm getting myself into?
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The only reason why I even opened this thread was because of your name "Will Scarlet".... ummm BEST MOVIE EVER.

Okay now that that's out of the way.... be yourself in your personal statement, but be weary of being too dreamy about it. I too really want to do work with wildlife, but I also feel conflicted about zoo's in general. After working at a zoo, I sort of made the decision that any wildlife stuff I want to do would only be in conservation (working in reserves) type stuff as opposed to zoo settings. This is my own personal experience and opinion- but I didn't mention it on my PS.

I stuck to more factual things- stuff I'd actually done or had hands on experience with. Because of my experience and how I wrote my PS, I had to leave some stuff out and since my dreams of branching into conservation are nothing more then just dreams at this point, it wasn't a strong enough point to really emphasize on my PS.

'Large animal experience' refers more to livestock and horses- zoo animals are not generally considered in that category.

Alright. Now based on what you wrote- I think at this point I'd leave it out of your PS, OR tie it in somewhere at the end if you've got a few lines to describe where you'd like to go with vet med. But since you've got little to no experience with wildlife, zoo and exotics, then I think its best to leave it out at this point.

"Will Scarlet"... awesome. Now I really want to watch it...*Achoo*!!!
 
When people mention dealing with the "politics" of zoo med, what does that mean exactly? Please forgive my ignorance -- I've never been behind the scenes at a zoo and sadly won't have an opportunity to any time soon. However, I do have a strong interest in exotics/wildlife/zoo med; I've volunteered at a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary, but I'm guessing it operates very differently than a traditional zoo. Because I think I eventually would like to work with exotics for pay, I'd like to have some idea what to expect!
 
Will Scarlet said:
I've got no large animal experience, and only a dozen hours so far at wildlife rehab: do you think that instead it would look like I'm overly-idealistic and don't know what I'm getting myself into?
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In my opinion, yes. Some schools (UPenn and Davis, if I remember correctly) want you to have a lot of experience backing such a statement ("I want to do zoo animal"). Especially without experience in the field you specify, it seems a bit dreamy. While I wouldn't avoid the subject entirely, you might want to get some zoo animal experience before mentioning it and even then be careful to acknowledge that without much experience you acknowledge the possibility of changing your mind. If it were me, I probably wouldn't mention it at all but that's up to you.
 
Psorophoraferox said:
When people mention dealing with the "politics" of zoo med, what does that mean exactly? Please forgive my ignorance -- I've never been behind the scenes at a zoo and sadly won't have an opportunity to any time soon. However, I do have a strong interest in exotics/wildlife/zoo med; I've volunteered at a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary, but I'm guessing it operates very differently than a traditional zoo. Because I think I eventually would like to work with exotics for pay, I'd like to have some idea what to expect!
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To put it bluntly, I think most people are just not okay with the idea of catching wild animals and putting them in cages. Obviously zoos have come a really long way since then, and many of them have excellent facilities, have started successful breeding programs, have advanced scientific knowledge of zoo science, etc.

For me, I worked at a zoo that had a lot of rescued animals- and though the curators (for the most part) were quite knowledgeable, I think the zoo just got too greedy and took in more animals then it could accommodate. Many animals weren't housed properly, and I felt the zoo just wanted to get bigger and bigger. Many animals today are still wild-caught, and thats just something I strongly disagree with.

Thus, I think its much more productive from a conservation, education and ethical perspective to have animals in protected reserves rather then public zoo's.
 
When people mention dealing with the "politics" of zoo med, what does that mean exactly?
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IME, the "politics" of zoo medicine means trying to balance the conflicting interests of animal health and animals as entertainment (or "edutainment"). For example, it reduces stress to provide lots of hiding places for animals or to allow them into their nighthouses whenever they want, but if patrons can't ever see the animals, they get grumpy. After all, they paid $10 or $20 or whatever to see lions and bears and elephants, not to look at an empty habitat. So the zoo vets often end up butting heads with curators as they try to find the right balance between what's best for the animals and what's best for the public trying to view them.

A Different Nature: The Paradoxical World of Zoos and Their Uncertain Future is a nice review of the history of zoos and the current challenge of creating a zoo that is both good for the community and good for the animals housed there.
 
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