Out of Africa ...

A highlight of the "Vets in the Wild Program" trip to South Africa for Animal Bioscience major
Diane Harris was caring for lion cubs.

For adventurous students wanting to be veterinarians, but who hope to work with animals other than cats, dogs and farm animals, the Vets in the Wild program offers an opportunity to experience what it's like working with big game in South Africa.

Diane Harris, an Animal Bioscience major in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, recently discovered this animal adventure lurking in the study abroad options on an animal bioscience web site.

"The Vets in the Wild program is offered through the University of Pretoria in South Africa and gives veterinarians, pre-veterinarians and vet-school students the chance to work with veterinarians who are accustomed to working with wild animals," says Harris. "They give you a hands-on taste of what it's like to work as a veterinarian in the wild through a series of trips across the South African landscape, from Blyde River Canyon reserve to Kruger National Park."

While traveling, Harris and 14 other students engaged in many outdoor activities with the animals during the day and night.

"You hear it a lot, but it's true - the animals really are so much larger in real life," Harris says. "But they're also very timid, except for the monkeys. They were all over - a lot like squirrels in America - and would try to grab your food if you weren't careful. Along with the monkeys, we also encountered warthogs, lions and even a rare mating pair of lions. In fact, the animals are actually more active at night. So, we decided to go on a night drive."

"During the drive we saw a leopard - a sight so rare that it alone brings people to Africa - and a pride of lions just lounging in the middle of the road. Where else could you experience something that unusual?"

Along with witnessing these animals up close, Harris also had the opportunity to work with them directly.

"During my time in the program, I transferred a sable, took part in a necropsy on a snake to see why it died and dehorned a wildebeest with an infected horn," she recalls. "I attended the game-capture school and learned how to transport and monitor animals once they were darted (tranquilized). We also heard lectures on how to manage a wildlife park, how to deal with disease in the park, what diseases these animals can contract and how to track and manage animal populations. A lot of parks actually let nature care for a lot of things. So while the role of the veterinarian in the wild is important, it's just as important to allow for the influence of nature."