More than 120 students will graduate from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in two weeks. But a dozen of those fourth-year medical students are getting rare hands-on training at Wildlife Prairie Park near Peoria before walking across the stage. Alex Rusciano observed one health session with a somewhat larger-than-normal patient:
Deep into Wildlife Prairie Park, several vet students are working on Molly.
Molly, who’s heavily sedated, is one of two North American Black Bears at the park, and she’s getting a head to paw inspection including blood work, a dental exam and a heart check. Mary Roberg is one of those students helping take samples, gently rolling Molly over and taking readings:
“Inspecting their paws, and their limbs themselves, it’s always way more impressive up close to see those features on a bear.”
But the students don’t stop at one animal. They’ve been working and living at Wildlife Prairie Park for nearly two weeks, treating cougars, birds and otters.
Doctor Matt Allender is supervising the U of I vet students during Molly’s checkup. He says the on-location training with such a variety of animals is an unusual opportunity for students getting ready to go professional:
“They’re going to walk across the stage second weekend in May and they’re going to be doctors and going to be licensed and out practicing, so these guys are ready, these guys are here and, again, to get this at this point of their career and this intensive is pretty unusual and pretty unique, it’s quite amazing.”
The U of I vet school has administered annual herd animal checkups for years. That includes the elk and bison. Wildlife Prairie pays $10,000 for the students’ housing and supplies during their two-week stay. Park Director Doug Dillow says the new partnership is worth the price, because it yields valuable health information on the park’s resident wildlife:
“Now we have data. We will have a baseline that we can provide that says at this point in time, this is what the condition was, and then they can assess from there. And so, it is a big support.
Dillow says the program is completely privately funded, since a not-for-profit group took over state control of the park last year. He says the private revenue is reliable in a time that state parks are vulnerable to looming state budget cuts.
This program is the first time that non-herd animals are getting annual health inspections, as opposed to on an as-needed basis at Wildlife Prairie Park. Doctor Julia Whittington is an associate professor at the U of I vet school. She says the main goal is to shift away from reactive medicine:
“Every animal, including humans, need health assessments, and historically veterinary medicine has focused on vaccination health. And vaccinations are absolutely important, but more important is preventative medicine. If we can get health assessments on these animals before they have a problem, then we’re able to provide them with significant benefit for their entire life, we can make their lives healthier.”
Whittington says one common concern for animals in captivity is that they when animals don’t burn off as many calories compared to living in the wild.
As for Molly the bear? Doctor Allender says she’s looking good, but a little overweight compared to her free-roaming relatives:
“A normal North American black bear in the wild is probably about 120 pounds, a female, and she’s pushing 400.
Allender says when Molly wakes up, park staff will use the new data to plan out nutrition and long-term health planning.