Along with our colleagues from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), and the Ft. Worth Zoo the Orangutan Conservancy was pleased to sponsor Indonesian wildlife veterinarian Yenny Saraswati on her recent trip to America for vocational vet training.
The joint effort brought Yenny halfway around the globe to further her veterinary expertise at the Indiana and Texas facilities as well as at other locales. Guided by top vets at those facilities Yenny gained new knowledge that she’ll be able to bring back to SOCP where hundreds of captive orangutans have been rescued, healed and many released successfully back into the wild.
The eight-week training trip focused on developing Yenny’s overall veterinarian capacity through medical procedures and field activity. It involved critical health issues of various animals, especially orangutans, which require effective and skilled handling on-site.
According to Yenny, “I learned more about emergency response, vital signs and anesthesia that will be extremely useful for my field work. We had numerous conversations about orangutan diseases, styles of medicine and suitable equipment. Seeing the treatment of captive animals here has given me a new set of concerns and knowledge. From knowledge that I gained, I would like to adopt a better medical style, preferred drug uses, and intense medical recording in order to improve procedures.”
At Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Yenny was involved in medical procedures for orangutans, a Sumatran tiger, red pandas, and various birds, reptiles and primates. At Fort Worth Zoo, she worked on gorillas, cheetahs and birds. The whirlwind of activity didn’t stop there as Yenny also honed her skills at Detroit Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, Louisville Zoo, Cleveland Metropark Zoo and Buffalo Zoo.
Thank you to all who participated in this international exchange of veterinary knowledge. Wildlife veterinarians and the orangutans they care for in Indonesia will certainly benefit from it for years to come, as Yenny will no doubt share her experiences with many other vets at this summer’s OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop.
Veterinarians are paid very little in Indonesia for the incredible work they do. If you’d like to help the Orangutan Conservancy sponsor future training visits like this one please click on our donate now page.
