This course focusses on the practical skills required to work as a wildlife health professional in the field. Topics covered include wildlife population monitoring, field disease investigation and best practice physical and chemical immobilisation of wildlife. Image CPD Hours: 170Course length: 2.5 weeksCourse dates: 17th February - 6th March 2025Cost: £3599Course format: An intensive 2.5 week field course, based in Kenya. Students receive a mixture of lecture based and practical teaching elements concluding with a multiple-choice examination and an assessed scientific presentation.Key AreasWild Animal population monitoringWildlife Health & Field Disease investigationWildlife Crime & Forensic investigationWild Animal Restraint and AnaesthesiaHuman-Wildlife InterfaceAbout this CourseParticipants will carry out a variety of practical and theoretical work, where they are given as many chances as possible to have a hands-on learning experience. Tuition will be carried out in the field to develop skills in human-livestock-wildlife conflict management, disease outbreak investigation, forensic investigation and monitoring of the health of declining species. It will include ecological techniques for field monitoring of wildlife (using a range of techniques including animal tracks and signs, dung/pellet identification and quantification, census techniques, camera trapping, and radio telemetry), best practice in wild animal anaesthesia techniques, demonstration and hands-on practice, clinical examination in the field, sampling techniques for infectious disease screening, pathological examination in the field, and disease surveillance scenarios.Why do this CourseThe Zoological Society of London (ZSL), The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), The University of Edinburgh (UoE), The Royal Veterinary College and the University of Melbourne have been motivated to run this course in recognition of the need to conserve globally important biodiversity. Many wildlife diseases are relatively unstudied and unchecked, therefore is an important need for greater expertise in, and greater numbers of, wildlife health professionals to tackle them. Such wildlife health professionals are needed to undertake interventions in the health, welfare and conservation of wild animals, to investigate emerging infectious diseases and to ensure human well-being. Further Information and Application LinkFurther information is available via our website or our flyer. To apply, please send a CV to conservation.medicine@ed.ac.uk. This article was published on 2024-09-02
