Saturday June 19: WOCC TOUR; DRIVERS AND SOLUTIONS

Another late night followed by another early morning. I need to start getting some rest!

6:30 am: Breakfast

7:30 am – 12:30 pm: Tour of White Oak Conservation Center

This morning we joined the White Oak Conservation Center staff for a guided open-bus tour of the White Oak Conservation Center's threatened and endangered species collection. Things started out with a trip to the cheetah arena where they used a series of ropes and balls to get two cheetahs into a full sprint. Needless to say, it was incredible to witness! Throughout the morning we also got to see 4 of the 5 species of rhinos, including one of the three Sumatran rhinos in the USA. These hairy creatures seem to be transplanted for an earlier age. Other highlights included touching a baby white rhino, visiting the veterinary facilities, feeding a group of young cheetahs, playing with some giraffes, and learning all about the breeding they do here for endangered species.

Fun fact: the single Sumatran rhino here (which belongs to the LA Zoo) accounts for half of the food budget for the entire park as a special feed needs to be flown in from the San Diego Zoo every day!

12:30 pm: Lunch

1:30 – 3:00 pm: The Global Bushmeat Crisis

Presenter: Heather Eves, Bushmeat Crisis Task Force

Eves is a wildlife biologist whose conservation work began in Africa in 1985, with a focus on the bushmeat trade beginning in 1994. She presented an overview of the unsustainable bushmeat trade including trade drivers and dynamics as well as conservation and health impacts. Worldwide demand for bushmeat, including the United States, was discussed. Successful and unsuccessful strategies to mitigate bushmeat trade were highlighted, and existing and proposed programs, policy and legislation were outlined.

3:15– 6:00 pm: Conserving Iconic Species: Elephant Conservation and Management Presenter: Susan Mikota, Elephant Care International

The world’s African and Asian elephant populations encapsulate the challenges facing wildlife conservation in the 21^st century: habitat, hunting, disease, and politics. Mikota has devoted her veterinary career to elephant conservation, and in one way or another has been immersed in all of the issues facing wild and working elephants. She discussed how elephants are affected by – and impact – ecosystem health (including human communities), the available strategies for mitigating stressors and conflict. She discussed elephant disease issues that must be factored into all elephant conservation and management programs. A large portion of the talk focused on the growing concern about TB in elephant populations.

6:30 pm: Dinner

Group Discussion – All

The composition of the Envirovet Class of 2010 truly exemplifies the opportunities and challenges of working to improve ecosystem health and conserve biodiversity: these are global challenges, with local implications, requiring people from multiple nations and differing educations, cultural backgrounds, and belief systems to work together. We discussed how international collaborations work and can succeed.