ZOO TAILS 46
Dr. Elizabeth Kaufman
Veterinarian – Hospital/Quarantine

My name is Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Kaufman and I am one of several veterinarians at the zoo. Beverly Burge is taking a break from article writing and she asked me to write this article. I have been working at the zoo for close to 15 years now and have watched it grow into being the very special place it is. It has been a rare privilege for me to be associated with the people here and to be able to do my bit in contribution. I get here at 9 in the morning and check to see if Nili, the head vet, is here yet. If she is we sit for a few minutes to discuss what needs to be done for the day and what we might have to set up for the next few days. Nili will go off to do her circuit of the zoo and check up on all the animals while I go to the hospital section and check up on the daily treatments of those animals who are hospitalized for whatever reason. Currently we have lots of animals in quarantine waiting to be moved up to a new home in the zoo or who are being transferred out of the zoo to new homes elsewhere. We have a crowned crane that broke her wing in a fall, a blue tongue skink with stomach bugs, a chinchilla with bad skin and a bearded dragon that just isn’t doing well. Each of these animals has to be cared for and their progress watched over.
One my main jobs is what we call “preventative medicine” which means trying to keep the animals from getting sick. I make sure each animal gets their vaccinations on time and other preventative medications. These help keep the animals strong and healthy. One of the concerns in any zoo is to make sure that animals don’t get stomach worms which are ubiquitous in the environment. In the wild animals roam over a very large area and the chance of picking up large amounts of worms is not great. In a zoo, which a restricted environment, the chance of picking up a stomach worm is much greater. Each section in the zoo has its own timetable of when they get checked to make sure they have no stomach worms and then a separate timetable for giving them worming medicine as a preventative.
Another job of mine is designing diets for all of the animals because after all you are what you eat. Each animal has a very specific diet that they eat in the wild and my job is to match that as best I can here at the zoo. This requires quite a bit of research into what is already known about any given animals diet in the wild, what other zoos feed, what nutritional work if any has been done on what sorts of vitamins, mineral and additives they might need. Once I know what they eat in the wild and what other zoos feed and what is know about their requirements I have to match it up with what we have available. Our fruits and vegetables are prime quality and full of vitamins and minerals which really helps. Sometimes we don’t have exactly what they need so we add supplements and other commercially made foods. Unfortunately, the animals don’t always eat what we give them so we need to check up on them to make sure they are eating enough of the right things.
The next time you come to the zoo look at how well the animals look. How thick and healthy their fur looks, how bright is the look in their eyes and how energetic they are – unless of course they are sleeping. Now you know more about how much behind the scenes work goes into helping them look and feel healthy.

Here’s wishing you and your family and friends a safe and happy Chanukah!