VIEW - Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife

25/03/2025

Coyote walking through fresh snow.

📸: Holly Pippel

20/03/2025

Spring is here! Who’s ready to wake up and roam? 🌞🐻

📸Photo: Vernon Smith

18/03/2025

Habitat loss, agricultural practices, climate change, and the global wildlife trade are all driving the rise of emerging infectious diseases. These factors create opportunities for pathogens to spill over into new species, including humans, or to expand their geographic reach. With increased interaction between wildlife and humans, the risk of disease transmission has never been higher.

Creating a comprehensive database to track diseases in wildlife populations is crucial for identifying potential threats before they spread. This data can help prevent outbreaks and provide early warnings for both wildlife conservation and public health efforts.

Learn more about how these factors increase the risk of spillover -->

Instead, complex interactions between factors (including climate change, habitat loss, agricultural practices, and closer contact between wildlife, livestock and people) can contribute to emergent infectious diseases and new pandemics.

17/03/2025

Inspiring the next generation of changemakers—one conversation at a time.

Dr. Deborah McCauley speaking to students at in Madrid.

12/03/2025

Something’s caught this bobcat’s eye—wonder if it’s trouble or just lunch. 👀

📸Photo: Vernon Smith

11/03/2025

'The goal should be to develop response plans that can be modified for a range of pathogens, rather than responding to one disease in one species at a time. This means building better surveillance programs for emerging diseases, making big investments in rapid diagnostics and funding the research that could forecast where disease threats might surface next.'

The country’s poor public health response to the outbreak is rooted in the inability to bring in dairy farmers as partners.

07/03/2025

Some nightlife in Montana 🌙

Photos:

05/03/2025

Rwandan-based vet Dr. David Murenzi shares his experience at Wildlife Safari

03/03/2025

On , we celebrate the incredible biodiversity that sustains life on our planet. A healthy planet depends on healthy wildlife, and at VIEW, we work to protect endangered species by tackling the health threats they face.

Let’s remember—we are all part of a connected world, and it’s up to us to protect wildlife and the ecosystems we share. Together, we can build a future where both animals and people thrive.

Join us in celebrating wildlife 🌎

28/02/2025

Our Rwandan-based veterinarian, Dr. David Murenzi completed intensive training at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. Over the course of the training, he gained hands-on experience treating a wide range of species including rhinos, elephants, cheetahs and elands. Wildlife Safari’s expansive, naturalistic enclosures closely mirror the field conditions of Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, where challenges such as varied terrain, dynamic weather, and unpredictable animal behavior are part of everyday wildlife management. This immersive setting provided him with invaluable insights into animal behavior, immobilization techniques, anesthesia, emergency care, and more.

From darting a scimitar-horned oryx for a fluid-filled mass to diagnosing pneumonia in a Roosevelt elk, Dr. Murenzi tackled an array of cases that enhanced his veterinary skills and deepened his commitment to wildlife health.

Read more about Dr. Murenzi’s experience: https://www.viewildlife.org/post/dr-david-murenzi-gains-hands-on-experience-at-wildlife-safari

Rwandan-based vet Dr. David Murenzi shares his experience at Wildlife Safari

24/02/2025

Check out the latest Points of VIEW newsletter!

In our February edition, we’re excited to share a range of project updates from awarding scholarships for exciting research, and attending inspiring conferences, to our intern’s hands-on work collaring elk in Montana.

Read the full newsletter here: https://www.viewildlife.org/post/february-2025-points-of-view-newsletter

Stay connected and subscribe for more updates: https://viewildlife.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=38d8a9fd6fa2f083ddddf3d18&id=cb7bf47161

While the world undergoes many changes, we remain committed to protecting native species

18/02/2025

Elk braving a cold winter day 🦌❄️

Photo credit:

17/02/2025

One possible explanation for this mass die-off is the presence of disease, toxins, or pollutants. This tragic event highlights the urgent need for robust systems to investigate causes of death, process biological samples in laboratories, and secure accurate diagnoses. Only with a clear understanding of what’s killing these creatures can we devise effective strategies to protect them.

The mass death of once-endangered olive ridley turtles in January has prompted an increase in wildlife patrols and a crackdown on fishing boats

14/02/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Yu on being awarded a 2-year Wildlife Health Training Fellowship funded by Morris Animal Foundation oundation. This fellowship supports her research on Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) as part of her PhD in Wildlife Epidemiology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine vis School of Veterinary Medicine. Since EEHV is the leading cause of death among young elephant calves in western zoos, her project aims to better understand the impact and epidemiology of EEHV in select Asian elephant range countries, addressing a critical gap in knowledge and diagnostic capacity.

About the project: In collaboration with on-the-ground NGOs for in-country project implementation, blood samples will be collected from semi-managed Asian elephants and calves for EEHV serology, along with f***l samples from wild elephants for EEHV PCR analysis. The overarching goals are to enhance our understanding of the seroprevalence and impact of EEHV, identify the timing of seroconversion in at-risk calves, and apply epidemiological approaches to understand risk factors for developing this disease.

Additionally, the project will utilize VIEW’s Wildlife Health Information System to digitize historic medical records and create a comprehensive health database for this semi-managed elephant population. This study was made possible with the Support from Morris Animal Foundation.

12/02/2025

New viral variants are of particular concern for for people as it has already caused one mortality and one very serious illness. If the new administration is not vigilant to stymie its spread, very serious consequences can occur. Communication is vital in the face of a disease outbreak.

The strain of bird flu is distinct from what has previously been found in dairy cattle. The finding raises some worrying questions — and concerns over the Trump administration's muted response.

10/02/2025

We’re happy to announce our newest scholarship recipient: Emmanuel Nyandwi and Emmanuel Tuyishime! With support from Conservation Nation onservation Nation, these two dedicated veterinary students are being awarded scholarships by VIEW and the University of Rwanda to research antimicrobial resistance in elephants and rhinoceroses.

This study will shed light on how AMR impacts wildlife health and guide conservation strategies for these species. We’re proud to support their journey toward becoming leaders in wildlife veterinary medicine and can’t wait to see the impact of their emerging research.

Read more about their project here: https://www.viewildlife.org/post/view-and-the-university-of-rwanda-award-scholarships-to-two-rising-wildlife-vet-leaders

We're proud to announce scholarship awards to two deserving young veterinary students: Mr. Emmanuel Nyandwi and Mr. Emmanuel Tuyishime.

30/01/2025

Citizen Zoo hosted the 2025 Rewilding Conference in Cambridge on January 17–18, marking a significant milestone since its 2019 Rewilding Symposium. Over the past few years, rewilding, the process of restoring ecosystems to their natural states and promoting wildlife population growth has gained worldwide recognition. The conference posed an important question: where will rewilding go in the coming decades?

Held in the world-renowned David Attenborough Building at the University of Cambridge, the two-day event featured leading voices in ecological restoration and conservation, including VIEW’s founder, Dr. Deborah McCauley. More than 450 participants attended—from industry professionals, academics, and landowners to representatives from NGOs, government bodies, and the private sector. In addition to expert presentations, attendees could take part in networking events, workshops, panel discussions, and more.

Reflecting on the conference, Dr. McCauley commented: “In a world where human populations and their domestic and agricultural animals have grown exponentially, wildlife faces significant challenges, including habitat loss, population decline, and climate change. In order to preserve endangered species, we must adopt innovative measures such as the rewilding and reintroduction programs showcased at the 2025 Rewilding Conference. However, for any rewilding initiative to be successful, we also need to include comprehensive health strategies as an integral part of the effort. Otherwise we might risk losing the very animals we want to save.”

Learn more about the conference here: https://sites.google.com/citizenzoo.org/2025rewildingconference

From January 17-18th, Citizen Zoo are hosting the 2025 Rewilding Conference in Cambridge. In the years since the 2019 Rewilding Symposium, the sector has expanded and transformed dramatically, with more rewilding widely recognised and gaining traction across the planet. Now, as nature recovery

27/01/2025

We’re excited to share our 2024 Annual Report! Over the past year, we’ve made a great impact on projects across three continents. With the help of our supporters and partners, we’ve achieved a truly global reach—from empowering young women in the Greater Yellowstone and Africa to facilitating gibbon conservation efforts in Asia.

We also expanded training for veterinarians, refined our data tools for better decision-making, and formed new partnerships with communities and conservation organizations worldwide. Our vets participated in and led numerous workshops, training, and seminars, laying the groundwork for sustainable wildlife health programs.

In 2024, we launched two major initiatives: the East Africa Center for Wildlife Health in Kenya and the Gibbon Health and Rehabilitation Project. Thank you to everyone who supported us last year, we look forward to continuing these efforts in the year ahead!

Read the full report:https://www.viewildlife.org/_files/ugd/c81c07_a514ad5a95d34c01a830c413ecd3b982.pdf