Addressing Wildlife Health in a Rapidly Changing World
 
Baby turtle
© Darcy Rose/Cornell University

The Cornell Wildlife Health Center  represents an unprecedented approach to the health challenges wild animals face here in the northeast U.S. and around the world - a comprehensive, science-based response by a team of the world's top wildlife and ecosystem health experts. 

These past few months have been a busy time for the wildlife veterinarians and technicians based at Cornell's Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital, which provides state-of-the-art medical and surgical care for ill and injured native wildlife. Between May and July of this year, the Swanson Wildlife Hospital rescued approximately 150 eggs from pregnant snapping and painted turtles that were hit by cars and too injured to survive and lay eggs on their own. Most of the successfully hatched turtles were released in September, and some will be cared for through the winter by Cornell veterinary students and volunteers. Watch the video of this incredible effort here. In addition, the latest issue of the Cornell Alumni Magazine features the heroic work of the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital. 

Please visit www.wildlifehealthcornell.org for information on all of our programs. As in the past, we hope you find this e-newsletter useful and thought-provoking. Please let us know! 
 
- Steve Osofsky, DVM
Jay Hyman Professor of Wildlife Health & Health Policy
Elephant
© Mark Atkinson/AHEAD
Of Animal Germs and Pachyderms
 
The Cornell Wildlife Health Center's Dr. Steve Osofsky has observed the long-standing conflict between southern Africa's livestock and wildlife sectors firsthand. In this piece for Scientific American, he explains how the region is at a crossroads of opportunity, and offers a novel approach for making Africa's largest transfrontier conservation area a success.
 
Flying geese
Technology Guiding Wildlife Repopulation
 
The Cornell Wildlife Health Lab has created StaPOPd, an interactive online tool that helps calculate how many plants or animals need to be introduced into a habitat in order to establish a stable population - a critical piece of information for conservation projects.
Zebras
 
Migrations: Cornell's First Global Grand Challenge
 
The Cornell Wildlife Health Center is honored to be featured in Cornell's first Global Grand Challenge - Migrations: Researching, Teaching and Building for a World on the Move, through our One Health partnerships and solutions. 
Bat
© Ann Froschauer/USFWS [ CC BY 2.0]
White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
 
Cornell's wildlife experts weigh-in on the impact of white-nose syndrome, a fungus that has been devastating bat populations across North America, with a mortality rate that can often reach 90 to 100 percent. 
Deer
Chronic Wasting Disease Prevention
 
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing new regulations to prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD) from entering the state. CWD is a fatal nervous system disease that affects deer, elk, and moose. According to Cornell's Dr. Krysten Schuler, New York has avoided outbreaks in its deer populations since 2005.
African Buffalo
Rethinking How We Manage Animal Disease
 
Cornell's Dr. Steve Osofsky details how methods of addressing livestock diseases can sometimes cause significant negative impacts on other sectors - especially wildlife - and calls for more thoughtful and holistic approaches.
Porcupine
Fungal Disease in Porcupines
 
Cornell's Dr. Laura Goodman helped to identify a new deadly fungal disease in porcupines, adding to the list of species hit by such outbreaks. The newly discovered fungal disease is zoonotic, which means it can be passed on to humans, although there are no documented cases of this occurring. 
Wildebeest
 
Botswana's Department of Veterinary Services and Cornell's AHEAD Program have completed a comprehensive road map that offers real hope for local farmers and wildlife impacted by animal disease.
Python on Table
© Rachel Philipson
Python Receives Eye Treatment
 
A scan performed at Cornell University Hospital for Animals aided veterinarians in their treatment of a python from Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.
Black Bear on Table
© Darcy Rose/Cornell University
 
After being hit by a car in the Adirondack Park, a female black bear cub was brought to the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital where it received care to repair its broken left foreleg.
Your gift literally means the world to us!
 
Please consider supporting the Cornell Wildlife Health Center by giving online, or contacting Sheila M. Reakes at 607-253-4310 or <[email protected]>.
                     

The Cornell Wildlife Health Center envisions a healthy future for wildlife, people and planet. We strive to develop proactive, science-based approaches for sustaining a healthier world. By improving knowledge, understanding, and capacity at the interface of wildlife health, domestic animal health, and human health and livelihoods, environmental stewardship can be enhanced today, and for tomorrow.
To learn more about the Cornell Wildlife Health Center, please contact
Dr. Steve Osofsky at  [email protected] or visit our website .
 
Please let us know if you have any comments on this e-newsletter,
an d if you find it useful! Thank you for your support.