Summary

A moray eel diagnosed with anorexia...A herd of bison whose only hope is a crusading female doctor from Paris...A vet desperately trying to save an orphaned whale by unraveling the mystery of her mother's death...This fascinating book offers a rare glimpse into the world of wild animals and the doctors who care for them. Here pioneering zoological veterinariansmen and women on the cutting edge of a new medical frontiertell real-life tales of daring procedures for patients weighing tons or ounces, treating symptoms ranging from broken bones to a broken heart, and life-and-death dramas that will forever change the way you think about wild animals and the bonds we share with them. At once heart-quickening and clinically fascinating, the stories in this remarkable collection represent some of the most moving and unusual cases ever taken on by zoological vets. A chronicle of discovery, compassion, and cutting-edge medicine,The Rhino with Glue-on Shoesis must reading for animal lovers, science buffs, and anyone who loves a well-told tale.

Author Biography

Lucy H. Spelman, DVM, is the regional veterinary manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in Rwanda that Dian Fossey created. She is the former director of the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and has been featured on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

Ted Y. Mashima, DVM, is the director of academic affairs and research for the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, based in Washington, D.C.

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. xiii
Close Connections	p. 1
Tough Guy Hondo	p. 5
The Eel and the Bartender	p. 14
Earring Boy	p. 21
Kachina's Bones	p. 29
Raising Kayavak	p. 41
Technology Helps	p. 53
The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes	p. 57
Pandas in Their Own Land	p. 68
When Whale Sharks Fly	p. 77
Patch	p. 89
Anesthesia for a Frog	p. 97
Getting Physical	p. 105
La Recapture (The Recapture)	p. 109
A Camel in the Snow	p. 119
The Bikers, the Students, and the Crocodile	p. 128
Tracking a Snared Elephant	p. 138
Partners in the Mist: A Close Call	p. 148
The Katrina Dolphins	p. 160
Puzzles and Mysteries	p. 171
The Limping Tiger	p. 175
Sliced Bananas in Jell-O	p. 184
On the Horn of a Dilemma	p. 195
The Bugs Have Bugs?	p. 207
Death of a Lemur: An Unsolved Mystery	p. 215
Baker D	p. 227
Crossover	p. 237
Tulip	p. 241
Empathy	p. 252
Polar Bears STAT	p. 261
Water-Breathing Dragons	p. 271
Amali's Example	p. 285
Alfredito the Hippo	p. 297
A Final Word	p. 307
Acknowledgments	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

Tough Guy Hondo by Barb Wolfe, DVM, PhD

Chimps are a disgusting, violent society,” advised my colleague as I contemplated the group of thirteen in front of me. This was early in my career and as the new veterinarian at the North Carolina Zoo in 1997, I didn’t know much about chimpanzee behavior. I stood watching the peaceable group in silent disagreement. A two-year-old wobbled by with a towel on her head. Two juveniles were donning socks for fun, while others poked at bits of food with sticks or bulldozed piles of straw around in circles with their lanky arms. I was marveling at my good fortune. I had a great job—and my first task of the day was to meet the chimp keepers and learn about these amusing animals in their care.

Punctuating that thought, a low howl began in the room, growing rapidly into a crescendo of hoots and screams. The keeper beside me said softly, “Just hold still.” I searched the group for the source of the noise. Hondo, the dominant male, was looking directly at me, bobbing up and down menacingly, while the rest of the group darted frantically about whooping the equivalent of a chimp-language emergency signal. Suddenly, Hondo bounded from the back of the enclosure, launched himself onto the mesh between us, and spat what felt like an ocean of water in my face. I didn’t hold still. I reeled involuntarily backward, stumbled on a pile of hoses, and ended up propped against a wall—soaked, horrified, embarrassed, and not entirely sure that I couldn’t catch Ebola virus from captive chimp spit.

It had never occurred to me that zoo animals would resent their vets. We are hardwired to love animals. We spend our whole lives plotting this career, scooping up clinic poop as kids, getting good grades even in the classes we hate, and volunteering our way through life long beyond the time when our childhood friends are having kids and buying houses. All to get to this glorious station: Zoo Vet. Then we find out that most animals can smell a vet coming before the truck rattles into the driveway, and will prepare their most unwelcoming demeanor. If they have limbs capable of hurling something, they will find something to hurl. If they can emit a nasty smell, they will be at their smelliest when you get there. And those with teeth and loud voices? Well, despite the thickest steel bars between you, being four feet from a lion that has just received a dart and is standing full height and roaring at you can truly necessitate a wardrobe change.

Hondo was no exception, and he greeted me the same way every time I paid the chimps a visit during those first few years. The way to cure him, the keepers said, was to ignore the assault. Just the way we tell our kids to deal with bullies. So year after year, every time a chimp had a runny nose or a cut on its finger, I would approach the enclosure calmly and try to examine the patient with composure while the keeper rewarded it with fruit juice or yogurt through the mesh. Out of the corner of my eye, I would see Hondo filling his mouth at the water spigot. Then, inevitably, the warning hoots of the troop would begin, the patient would dart fearfully away, and Hondo would appear, like a flying King Kong, to give me a dousing. I’d quietly stand up, dripping spit from my eyelashes, issue suggestions for treatment of the patient, and retreat without even the solace of a threatening glare at him.

Reportedly, a previous vet used to wear bright yellow rain gear to protect himself when entering the chimp building. Hondo was delighted to see this costume change on his behalf, and ramped up the ferocity of his attack. He wasn’t like Joey, the sneaky sea lion who would bite you when you weren’t paying attention. You could stare Joey into submission, the way a border collie does with sheep. Making eye contact with Hondo only accelerated the strike. There was nothing I could do, and I bega

Excerpted from The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.