WildLife Group
of the SAVA
Wildlife elective 2016
Being a wildlife elective student, why is this so
different from any other elective?
Fritz van den Heever
Simple really, variety is the spice of life and where
else would a veterinary student find variety like in the
wildlife species of South Africa.
This Elective is different from any other, as all the
other electives are based on how things are run at
Onderstepoort academic animal hospital. Equine
elective for example, cases that they see are
approached the same way every time, and they see
more horses than other veterinary students but it’s
the same boring thing over and over every time. With
wildlife on the other hand, every day is different and
a brand new challenge every time. From darting Sable
antelope in the scorching African sun, to helping out
with ground hornbills at Loskop dam.
Helping to save the rhino or even trying to keep
human tuberculosis away from our national zoo
elephants. Every time is different and even more
exciting than the last. In just a few weeks we got to do
hands on practical skills with 4 of the big 5 (no buffalo
work unfortunately).
Another aspect of this elective is the theoretical
side of wildlife, such as game farming (which is a
massive industry in South Africa today). But also we
got to learn the theory of game capture and also the
conservation side of wild animals from some of the
most influential and experienced conservationists
and wildlife veterinarians in the world. Another thing
was the fact that we get to meet a lot of people in
6
the wildlife industry, thus the networking with people
that may play a big part in our future career was also
very advantageous. For example we got to go to the
veterinary wildlife conference free of charge ,and
also there, we got to see the real issues in wildlife
veterinary practice.
So I cannot speak on behalf of the students on other
electives, but one thing is for sure, we get to see how
things work in the real world and not in ideal hospital
conditions, also the thrill of wild lion capture and a
helicopter flying low over your head has no equal. I
would recommend this elective for all the adventure
seeking final year students of the future.