Happy Birthday to Me!
I only took a few photos today but others took a bunch so I will add more in the near future!
The morning lecturer did not make it on time so we did not have any scheduled activities until 10:00am. I took advantage and slept in until 9:00. All day long I received Happy Birthday notes and well wishes. Everyone was so nice!
7:30 am: Breakfast
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: African Elephants: Saving an Iconic Species from Overpopulation
Presenter: Mark Stetter, Disney Animal Programs
Stetter described his collaborative work to assist wildlife managers in South Africa with the problem of elephant overpopulation in parks and reserves by developing techniques for surgical sterilization of free-ranging elephants in the field. Stetter is the lead veterinarian for Disney and was a totally awesome guy. Some of his work has been referenced on the Colbert Report:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/76929/october-18-2006/elephant-vasectomies
12:00 pm: Lunch
1:00 – 2:30 pm: The Mountain Gorilla One Health Program
Presenter: Mike Cranfield, UC Davis and Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, Inc.
As the Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and Co-Director of the Mountain Gorilla One Health Program, Cranfield is closely involved with addressing the complex human health and welfare issues surrounding the conservation of mountain gorillas, including the vital role that ecotourism plays in protecting the species from extinction, as well as the critical role that veterinary medicine plays in ensuring the sustainability of the species. It was another awesome talk!
2:45 – 4:00 pm: Role of the wildlife veterinarian in species conservation efforts
Presenter: Dave Hunter, Turner Enterprises, Inc. and Turner Endangered Species Fund
Hunter spent the first part of his career as a wildlife veterinarian working for state wildlife agencies in California and Idaho, and now serves as head veterinarian for the domestic and wild animal populations living on Ted Turner's ranches in North and South. His experiences as a wildlife veterinarian range from darting bighorn sheep to negotiating park boundaries in foreign countries. He is the only veterinarian for Ted Turner and it keeps him busy. A very fun presenter and all around cool dude.
4:00 – 6:30 pm: Group Project Part III work time
We worked furiously to complete our group presentation. Once we were done I played some foosball, darts and pool with some classmates and Kirstens children (15 year old Jasper and 9 year old Maya).
7:00 pm: Dinner
After dinner the staff was so nice and brought me out some birthday cake while all of the envirovet particpants sang to me. Everyone was so nice! Since it was also our last night at White Oak, we had a big party with free alcohol. Many games were played and pictures taken. I had a great time celebrating my birthday with some of the countries most prominent wildlife and zoo veterinarians. As the party at the bar began to die down, most of the students headed to the pool. We finished the night with a long pool volleyball session and some intense chicken fights.
No comments:
Post a Comment