From: “Dr. David Scarfe”
Date: 26 March 2013 0:20:18 AWST
Subject: AquaVetMed: Aquatic Veterinarians & US Navy Marine Mammal Program
March 25, 2013
Top-notch care for elite fleets
JAVMA News – The greatest concentration of marine mammal veterinarians isn’t found in the theme parks of Orlando or on the colorful beaches of Hawaii. That designation goes to the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program at Point Loma in San Diego. For decades, the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego has provided cutting-edge veterinary care to bottle-nosed dolphins and California sea lions.
The Navy uses these animals to find and mark the location of underwater objects. Both of these marine mammal species can be trained to perform a variety of tasks for the Navy. They are fast and agile swimmers, can dive up to 1,000 feet underwater, and can do repetitive dives without suffering from the bends.
The program’s animal care team comprises members of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, civilians, National Marine Mammal Foundation veterinarians, and other animal health care experts. Together, the marine mammal veterinarians who care for the program’s 80 dolphins and 40 sea lions constitute the largest group of marine mammal veterinarians in the country. Dr. Cynthia R. Smith, executive director of the NMMF, explained that marine mammal veterinarians from the program originally created the nonprofit foundation under Dr. Sam Ridgway’s guidance. The NMMF currently provides medical care for the Navy animals and clinical research support that helps the Navy continuously advance the health and welfare of its marine mammal population.
Three Army veterinarians and five Army veterinary technicians represent the Army Veterinary Corps in the program. Because this is a unique assignment, the Army staff members undergo a lot of on-the-job training as part of the veterinary care team.
Capt. Lara S. Cotte, officer in charge of clinical veterinary services, concedes there is a steep learning curve for new Army personnel who rotate in. “We’re in a new era where there are more vets and techs than the program had 10 years ago. We’re constantly working on consistency of personnel,” Dr. Cotte said. “Training on all levels is paramount to ensuring quality animal care.”
An ounce of prevention
Veterinarians with the program place a heavy emphasis on preventive medicine and routine diagnostic testing, but also stress maintaining social and environmental conditions that keep their animals healthy. The Navy’s marine mammals go through an annual wellness examination, which includes a history and physical examination, auscultation, and collection of fecal and blood samples. Animals are dewormed every six months, and sea lions receive monthly heartworm preventive.
Sonographic and endoscopic examinations are a routine part of the preventive medicine program, and on occasion, the veterinary staff perform CT or MRI scans at the nearby Naval Medical Center in San Diego to better characterize the animals’ health. Trainers are taught the signs to look for when performing medical checks every day and whom to notify when something isn’t right, whether it’s a low appetite or change in behavior, Dr. Cotte said. “One of the biggest problems working with marine mammals is they are incredibly sophisticated at masking disease,” which requires looking for subtle cues, she said.
While the Navy marine mammal population has consistently had low mortality and high survival rates over the past 20 years, illnesses are inevitable in any animal population. The most common health issue for the sea lions is mild gastrointestinal disease, which is likely also the case for their counterparts in the wild. In the dolphins, Dr. Cotte said, respiratory conditions such as bronchopneumonia are the most common illnesses … … .
See the source (https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/130401a.aspx) for the full story.
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