Promote Veterinary Education in Ecuador & Beyond

 (Ernesto Arbelaez, L)

    (Amanda Vega, R)

Back in 2013, a family-run wildlife rescue center called Bioparque Amaru in the Southern Ecuadorian Andes dreamed of having a real veterinary clinic for its many patients. The Arbelaez family and I turned to Razoo.

Thanks to Razoo supporters, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and countless volunteers, zookeepers, interns, veterinarians, and visitors to Amaru, that clinic is now functional. Over 900 individual animals of 400 native, South American Andean, Amazonian, and Coastal species rely on supportive and life-saving procedures performed in that clinic, which are more and more successful as resources, technologies, and training continue to improve at Amaru. (Photo cred: Abby Needleman)

      Not only is the Clinica de Fauna Silvestre in Amaru now a safer place to treat incoming confiscated and injured wildlife, but it was was recently the stage for the practical training of a multi-national conservation medicine training conference. Thanks to the efforts of Dr.Andres Ortega of the Fondo Tueri at the Universidad de San Francisco Quito, and the Arbelaez family, founders and innovators of Bioparque Amaru, where director Ernesto Arbelaez is now president of the Ecuadorian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, students and veterinarians of several countries were able to come together and learn from some of wildlife and zoo medicine's greatest.

Three international vets were asked to present at the conference's lectures in Quito:

- Dr. James Carpenter, (MS DACZM DVM) author of the Exotics Formulary that provides critical technical advice to countless zoos, wildlife clinics, and exotic animal veterinarians worldwide 

-Dr.Pilar Fish, (MPH DVM) currently director of the veterinary hospital at the National Aviary and known as a specialist in Primate behavior

-Dr. Roberto Aguilar, (DVM), faculty at UNAM in Mexico City and the European zoos and aquariums specialist on anteater conservation, and promoter of pan-American collaborations through activities in the group LatinVets linking vets from Latin America to opportunities and resources internationally

Though Dr.Aguilar could only be there in spirit, his lectures were adapted and presented to the group with great success. The conference description can be found (in Spanish!) on Bioparque Amaru's website and on facebook under Seminario Internacional: Medicina de Fauna Silvestre.

Linked here: http://www.zoobioparqueamaru.com/webs/noticia_detalle.php?Id_Noticia=22-seminario-internacional-de-medicina-de-la-conservacion-de-fauna-silvestre

Unfortunately, all this collaboration does not come without cost!
     In order to maximize the impact of conference fees, we decided early on that all the money gained for the conference would go directly back to Bioparque Amaru and Fondo Tueri's animals, and that it did. With this Razoo, we are hoping to recuperate the approximately $3000 that was used to transport the three veterinarians to the conference and back to their home countries, while increasing the awareness of  the potential Bioparque Amaru has to host unique training opportunities, interns interested in conservation/zookeeping/conservation medicine from all corners of the earth, and veterinarians looking to make a positive impact on the future of wildlife medicine in a country that boasts a staggering biodiversity and immense conservation success potential.  

...which is where you come in, Razoo supporter!

Any support you can offer for the future training of Ecuador's wildlife veterinarians, Environmental Ministry Officials in charge of illegal wildlife trafficking confiscations, and the dedicated wildlife and zoo personnel who give the animals a second chance every single day makes a huge difference. The passion and dedication of our colleagues and the professionals in Ecuador are boundless, and the species they're fighting to save are some of the most spellbinding specimens the world has to offer.

Cheers from me, another future wildlife veterinarian trying to make the dream work, 

Nikki B.

P.S.-If you'd like to learn more about Amaru and Wildlife Conservation Medicine in Ecuador, check out the following sources!

Peregrination blog: Clinica de Fauna Silvestre at Amaru

http://onehealth47.blogspot.com/2015/09/bioparque-amaru-wildlife-and-zoo-clinic.html

Peregrination blog: Challenges of veterinary education in Latin America

http://onehealth47.blogspot.com/2014/05/el-final-conservation-challenges-in.html

ALPZA: Where is Zoo and Wildlife Medicine Headed in Latin America (Dr.Carlos Sanchez of Ft.Worth Zoo, in Spanish): http://www.alpza.com/single-post/2016/1/25/La-medicina-de-animales-de-zool%C3%B3gico-en-Am%C3%A9rica-Latina-%C2%BFD%C3%B3nde-se-encuentra-y-hacia-d%C3%B3nde-va

Wildlife trafficking in Ecuador and Fondo Tueri (In Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEWkTd3uCkQ

                                       Abby Needleman (Tufts Veterinary School) & ocelot