Let’s Celebrate Disney World’s Amazing Female Veterinarians
Since March is Women’s History Month, it seems only fitting that we pay tribute to the incredible women working tirelessly to look after the animals at Walt Disney World. This includes everything from performing a CT scan on an eel to saving two of the world’s most endangered species! Disney’s veterinarian team uses their brains, muscles and hearts to manage some of the most challenging feats of modern day medicine.
In order to successfully carry out their duties, each veterinarian must know each species and there are over 5,000 animals at Walt Disney World! This includes an understanding of their anatomy, veterinary procedures and more.
“At any given time, we might be called in to anesthetize a snake or an elephant or a shark – sometimes all in the same day,” says Dr. Betsy a board-certified specialist in zoological medicine who has been with Disney for 18 years. “Because animals can’t talk to us and tell us their ailments, and every case is different, it’s a challenge to figure out all the pieces of the puzzle.”
A great example of the work these incredible Disney veterinarians carry out everyday happened when a frogfish from The Seas with Nemo & Friends became ill. It was up to Disney’s Animal Care team to anesthetize the fish. Then Dr. Natalie reviewed x-rays that showed that the fish had a broken jaw. That meant the she has the daunting task of setting a broken jaw for a fish that weighed under one pound.
So how did she solve this issue? She used dental material that is typically reserved for humans to help fuse the fish’s jawbones. A cylindrical tube was then used to keep the jaw from moving long enough for the adhesive to have time to work. Thankfully the procedure was a success and Pumpkin is back to her old self.
In addition to the fish mentioned above, a 12 year-old Western lowland gorilla named Lilly has recovered from painful bubbles trapped in her intestinal wall and bladder thanks to the quick thinking of Dr. Natalie and Co. Dr. Natalie carefully researched potential procedures before deciding on a hyperbaric oxygen treatment previously used to treat decompression sickness in humans.
During the procedure, air was compressed around Lilly to squeeze the bubbles so that they were tiny enough to pass through her blood stream. . “I’ve known Lilly since she was born and she is the same age as my daughter,” said Dr. Natalie with some relief. “Success is hard to measure, but I believe we make a positive impact in the lives of all the animals in our care.”
Working alongside Dr. Natalie is Dr. Jen, a board-certified specialist in zoological medicine. She recalls treating a three-foot-long green moray eel suffering from anemia. In order to properly diagnose the eel a CT scanner was required. But how do you find one for an eel! The innovative vets at Animal Kingdom actually made one of their own. The designed a clear acrylic box to suspend an eel hammock. This allowed them to get a clear look at the areas ailing Sigsbee the eel.
We’ll leave you with a story about the successes of another fabulous Disney World veterinarian, Dr. Deidre. She has helped bring back the extinct Guam rail and Guam kingfisher birds. Both species became extinct due to brown tree snakes found in Guam. Dr. Deidre jumped into action and mobilized the care and breeding of hatchlings over a number of years on an island that neighbored Guam. She recalls making a real connection with the birds who would take a moment to connect with her before taking flight and heading off into the world. “It’s as if they said, thank you for caring about me,” said Dr. Deidre, “Knowing that these species were extinct in the wild and being able to bring them back to their natural habitat is one of my proudest moments. I truly feel like it leaves a legacy for the species.”
Here at MickeyBlog, we are in absolute awe of these smart, strong, soft-hearted cast members. They are our veterinary superheroes! So let’s salute them this Women’s History Month!
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