Special Species Symposium 2011

Cornell’s Zoo and Wildlife Society would like to welcome you to Special Species 2011!  They are very excited about this year’s line-up.  Collaborating with several other student organizations, they have introduced some new themes including exotic and wildlife behavior, and a special public health outbreak response module.  They hope to highlight some of the emerging roles of veterinarians in both domestic and international society, and keep attendees on the cutting edge of this movement. Students have been hard at work putting things together, and they can’t wait for you to join them for what promises to be one of the most exciting symposiums yet! Lecture topics include pocket pets, wildlife and conservation medicine and the wetlabs include almost every species imaginable!

Registration is due by April 1st for only $60 for lectures, $80 for lectures and wetlabs. Check out their website for more information. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/students/ZAWS/Welcome.html

Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory

By: Madoka McAllister

Class of 2014, University of Illinois

In January 2010, I had the distinct pleasure of taking part in a marine animal rehabilitation internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida.  I had had some previous rehabilitation experience but never with marine animals so it was a very new, exciting opportunity for me.  Although the Rehabilitation Hospital at Mote takes in sea turtles, dolphins and whales, our patients were exclusively sea turtles during my time there.  Having gone into the internship knowing little about sea turtles, I was amazed to discover how intelligent and graceful they are.  Many had distinct personalities and over the duration of my internship, I became very fond of them.  

Florida experienced a sudden cold snap this past winter, with water temperatures dropping 5-8 degrees below average, resulting in the second coldest winter on record in many areas.  Most wildlife and plant life was severely impacted, including thousands of sea turtles that were cold-stunned as a result of the unusual weather.  Cold-stunned turtles are extremely weak and were unable to swim properly, often floating at the ocean's surface or washing up on shore.  I arrived at the Mote just in time to help out with the inflow of cold-stunned sea turtles. 

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