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Training Tomorrow’s Wildlife Health Professionals continued

baseline information,” said Winter. “What does a healthy Bland-
ing’s turtle look like in the wild? What germs does it normally
have? What does a healthy population look like?”
Allender has been monitoring populations of Blanding’s turtles,
an endangered species, in all of the neighboring counties around
Cook County since 2015. Health assessments of turtles in parts
of the monitored areas identified healthy animals that carried
the herpes virus. This finding could be useful to scientists
investigating disease outbreaks in Blanding’s turtle populations.
“By testing the turtles across different areas, we can see which
habitats support good health and we can try to identify habitats
where health outcomes are poor and try to modify them,” said
Allender. Learning how the habitat can affect health and disease
spread enables biologists to make more informed decisions to
improve conservation.
The residency program is based on the One Health model
of health and illness. “The idea is that animals, people, and the
environment share the same system and that the health of one
affects the health of the others,” said Winter. “By working
together, veterinarians, biologists, ecologists, and other experts
can develop a more complete picture of the health of the animals
and the ecosystem.
“I love this field because I’m able to see how the effort we
put in directly contributes to conservation,” said Winter. “I still Above: During the physical examination of a wood duck, Dr. Winter listens
wake up every morning and say ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am to its heart and lungs. He is assisted by Dr. Allender.
that I get to do this work!’”

CZS’s Eminent History in Veterinary Training
C Z S ’ s E m i n e nt H i s t o r y i n V e t er i n a r y T r a i n i n g
The Illinois Zoological and Wildlife Health Management Residency Program is not the first veterinary residency
program launched by the Chicago Zoological Society and our partners. In 2005, CZS, the University of Illinois,
and the John G. Shedd Aquarium established the Illinois Zoological & Aquatic Animal Residency Program (IZAAR).
The prestigious program attracts an applicant pool of top early career veterinarians from across the country.
“The IZAAR program is focused on training veterinarians for the care of animals under human care,” said Allender,
“whereas the new wildlife health management program focuses on free-ranging wildlife health.” The IZAAR residents
rotate through the Shedd Aquarium where they train in the medical care of aquatic species.
There is some overlap between the two residencies. Both are three-year training programs. Residents of both programs
receive advanced training in zoological medicine at Brookfield Zoo’s on-site veterinary hospital; the state-of-the-art
facility has dedicated space for clinical, quarantine, necropsy, laboratory, water quality, and office work. Residents
in both programs also receive direct mentoring from board-certified specialists in zoological medicine and training
in field work, clinical skills such as diagnosis and treatment, and research and laboratory skills. They write scientific
papers and present their work at national and international conferences.

28 GATEWAYS | WILDLIFE HEALTH