Veterinarian specialists in the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan

Specialists in diverse fields of veterinary medicine often provide their expertise for various procedures across the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan sites.  This week we focus on two cases at Point Defiance Zoo &Aquarium (PDZA). While the zoo has its own on-site veterinarians that specialize in zoo medicine, the added expertise of specialists from other disciplines results in our animals receiving the best care possible.  This type of cooperation is not uncommon in zoo and wildlife medicine and there were a couple of recent red wolf cases where these specialists assisted the veterinary staff at PDZA. Veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr. Tom Sullivan from The Animal Eye Clinic, Inc. in Seattle, WA frequently visits PDZA to take a closer look at the ocular health of the animals. He routinely checks in on the walruses and harbor seals but has also evaluated birds, reptiles, and even fish.  In this case he came to examine a red wolf. This wolf had a preliminary diagnosis of entropion, which Dr. Tom was able to confirm. Entropion is a condition where all or part of the eyelid folds inward causing  eyelashes or hair to come into contact with the surface of the eye leading to irritation and scratching of the cornea. Ultimately this can lead to corneal ulceration or perforation. This condition is fairly common in domestic dogs and fortunately corrective surgery is a viable treatment option to‘re-direct’ the eyelid with some minor excision and suturing. Within several days following the surgery, the wolf was reexamined and declared good as new.  

Dr. Tom's eye examination of a captive red wolf.

The other case involved a red wolf identified as potentially having gastrointestinal inflammation based on physical examination and preliminary diagnostic test results. Dr. Beth Herman, an internal medicine specialist from Summit Veterinary Referral Center in Tacoma, WA agreed to perform an endoscopic examination. Using a fiber-optic flexible tubular instrument that is attached to a camera, she was able to visualize the stomach, intestines, and colon of the red wolf. The image projected from the camera to a monitor confirmed that there was visible inflammation in sections of the GI tract. Several biopsy samples were taken by inserting a small, flexible cable, with a pincher-type tool on the end, through the endoscope to pluck a few tiny pieces of tissue that were sent to a lab for further analysis. Having Dr. Beth available to skillfully navigate the endoscopic equipment and obtain samples provided the PDZA veterinary staff with valuable information to help develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Dr. Beth and Dr. Karen performing an endoscopic exam on a captive red wolf.

We are grateful to Drs. Tom and Beth for sharing their time and expertise to help us provide quality care to all the animals in the PDZA collection.  

Red Wolf Annual Health Exams at PDZA

It’s that time of year within the Red Wolf Recovery Program (RWRP) that the red wolves are examined during their annual health checks and given vaccinations at the various Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) facilities. Last month, RWRP Assistant Coordinator, Becky, joined a group at the first (and largest) RWSSP site, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (PDZA) in Tacoma, Washington, to help with veterinary exams of the captive red wolves. 

Together with veterinary staff from PDZA including Will Waddell (the RWSSP Coordinator), Dr. Karen Wolf (the RWSSP Veterinary Advisor), Dr. Katie Seeley, veterinarian intern, Mary, and staff from nearby RWSSP site Wolf Haven International (Tenino, WA), we headed out to Northwest Trek to meet longtime red wolf caretaker, Sue.  Cool (and mostly dry) weather helped facilitate catching up animals within the pens, examining wolves, collecting blood samples, and administering vaccines.  We were able to process around 30 animals over two days!

Dr. Wolf, Dr. Seeley, and Will getting ready to enter a den.

Mary and Dr. Seeley drawing blood from a captive red wolf.

I also had the opportunity to explore PDZA itself and see the wonderfully expanded Red Wolf Woods and exhibit viewing area.  I was really impressed by the Boeing Company Red Wolf Conservation Center, which included a recovery timeline featuring photos of many of the RWRP field staff.  The exhibit is a great model of how we can continue to educate people about red wolf conservation, while giving folks an up-close view of a red wolf pack.

RWSSP Coordinator Will at the Red Wolf Conservation Center at PDZA.

Road to Recovery feature in the Red Wolf Conservation Center at PDZA.

For my first visit to PDZA, I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful experience.  Thank you to all the PDZA staff who attended my talk.  It was terrific to meet so many folks, and I'm grateful to everyone for enduring my countless questions about different species they work with.  Special thanks to all the red wolf caretakers—your hard work is a major contributing factor to red wolf recovery!  

Captive wolf at PDZA. Photo credit: B. Bartel/USFWS.

Thank you also to Will and Marla for being gracious hosts!  I can’t wait to visit the crew again soon.

-Becky

Susan G. Komen Seattle 3-Day in memory of Dr. Holly Reed

This week, we have another fantastic entry from a guest blogger!  Will, the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) Coordinator at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, (Tacoma, WA) shares his recent experience with the Susan G. Komen 3-Day fundraiser walk.  Thank you to Will and Marla for raising awareness for this important cause!

Will and Marla share a laugh with one of Seattle PDs 3Day support team.

With the encouragement and contributions from many friends and colleagues, my wife and I participated in and completed the Susan G. Komen Seattle 3-Day. We shared the 60-mile walk with over 1000 other participants throughout Seattle’s streets and surrounding communities, across bridges and along urban pathways with a common purpose, to support efforts to help find the cures to end breast cancer. Cheering sections along the route offered all sorts of goodies and the ever present crew of volunteers, decked out in a range of wacky pink getups, gave us inspiration as we trekked on to the next pit stop and into camp the first two nights. Rain and wind for part of the final day was a mere inconvenience as we headed toward the Space Needle to finish the walk. 

Dr. Holly Reed

It’s fair to say that many of us know someone… a relative, friend, co-worker, or neighbor who has, in some way, been affected by breast cancer. In our case, we lost a dear friend and co-worker, Dr. Holly Reed, last November to breast cancer. Holly served as the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan Veterinary Advisor for many years with compassion, humor, and grace and we were honored to walk in her memory.

Red wolf vaccination study at PDZA

We have a guest blogger this week, Dr. Kadie Anderson, DVM at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium!  Dr. Anderson has graciously blogged for us previously on reproductive research that is ongoing through the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (PDZA). 

Just like our pets, red wolves require routine and preventive care.  Most animal health programs recommend vaccinating for certain infectious disease and the veterinary arm of the RWSSP is no different.  Red wolves in the RWSSP and wild populations’ are vaccinated to protect these endangered animals against disease such as parvovirus, distemper, and rabies. 

As the field of zoo and wildlife medicine continues to advance, veterinarians often have to extrapolate treatment and management plans from models developed in similar domestic species, e.g. dogs, and apply them to non-domestic canids.   Red wolves have been vaccinated for parvovirus, canine distemper, adenovirus, and rabies on an annual basis without evidence that the vaccines conveyed adequate immunity and how long the vaccines would last.  Recent research showing that domestic dogs could maintain protective titers to distemper and parvovirus for longer than one year (and as long as 3 years) sparked the RWSSP’s interest in determining the efficacy and duration of these vaccines in non-domestic canids such as the red wolf.    

To understand this study, a brief review of how vaccines cause protective immunity is warranted.  It may come as a surprise that the first dose of many vaccines is not protective against disease.  The first dose of vaccine primes the immune system to begin developing a response to the antigen, or disease agent.  This initial response generates antibodies but usually not in sufficient quantities to generate a protective response or titer (amount of antibody).  The second and third boosters of vaccine again stimulate the immune system to generate a larger amount of antibody with each dose, eventually reaching an endpoint (for most animals) which is considered protective.  These antibodies, called IgG, circulate in the immune system for an unknown length of time waiting to react to an infection.

In 2007, PDZA received funding from PDZA’s Conservation Committee to begin a multi-year study to determine whether the vaccination interval could be increased from one year to three years for canine distemper and parvovirus vaccine products.  Facilities from around the nation participated in the study, with the majority of study animals coming from PDZA’s off-site breeding facility.  A total of 32 animals entered the study.  In order to enter the study, wolves must have completed a neonatal series of vaccines and received their annual booster vaccination.  Serology was performed to determine endpoint titers for parvovirus, distemper, and adenovirus on an annual basis.  A positive endpoint titer (considered protective) was extrapolated from that which was considered positive in domestic dogs.  While results of adenovirus protection were unclear due to varying vaccination histories and products used, 100% of wolves developed and maintained a protective titer over three years to distemper virus and ~97% of wolves developed and maintained a positive titer to parvovirus over the three year study. 

Approximately 8 week old pup receiving first series of vaccinations.
Photo: W. Waddell/PDZA

Pup receiving third vaccination at around 12 weeks of age.
Photo: W. Waddell/PDZA

These findings have changed the preventive medicine guidelines for red wolves in the RWSSP, to align with recommendations for domestic dogs, where the initial vaccination series occurring in neonates is followed with a booster at 1 year of age then triennially thereafter.  Increased vaccination intervals reduce handling and associated stress in the wolves, and minimize the risks associated with vaccination.  It is hoped that this information can also be utilized to aid in the management and risk reduction for wild red wolves, to minimize potential losses to infectious disease. 

Lincoln Park Zoo projects and #11353

A few months ago we mentioned that the Red Wolf Recovery Program and Red Wolf Species Survival Plan (RWSSP) partners from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (Tacoma, WA) and Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL) received three grants from for projects that will further the conservation of the endangered red wolf.   The awards grants annually to a variety of conservation and research programs worldwide, and is supported by generous contributions from PDZA, Point Defiance Zoo Society, and the Point Defiance American Association of Zoo Keepers chapter. 

One of these projects is to develop baseline red wolf population viability models of both wild and zoo-based populations.  Population viability analysis (PVA) will help us determine red wolf population dynamics and understand trends in both populations, greatly enhancing our collective ability to conserve the species and advance red wolf recovery goals.  As the program grows and faces new challenges, these models can be used to help predict extinction risks and effects of different adaptive management strategies.

PVA working group: David, Nicole, Joe, Lisa, Sarah, and Will. Photo: B.Bartel/USFWS

Last week, David and Becky from the Red Wolf Recovery Program along with Will, the RWSSP Coordinator from PDZA, landed in the Windy City to meet with collaborators at the Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology including Lisa, the Vice President of Conservation and Science, and fellow researchers, Joe and Nicole.  Sarah, the director of the Population Management Center at Lincoln Park Zoo, also serves as an advisor in population biology on the RWSSP Advisory Board.  We discussed the different data sets for the zoo and wild populations and considered various model structures and formats we could use for this work.  

We also got to tour the red wolf exhibit in the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo.  There are currently three females at the zoo, 11353 born in 2004, and two of her daughters born in 2010. Red wolf 11353 is actually an important wolf in the captive breeding program.  She’s had three successful litters with 21 pups, which are now distributed across 6 different RWSSP sites. Additionally, 6 of her pups were fostered into the wild population in 2009 and 2010.  The Red Wolf Recovery Program is still actively monitoring 2 of these individuals.  Interestingly, one of 11353's pups fostered in 2009 (11737) has since fathered two sets of pups in wild (in 2012 and 2013).  This spring we actually fostered a pup into his 2013 litter—a fostering full circle!

Stay tuned for more updates on this research!

Foster pup with new packmates (11737's offspring). Photo: B. Bartel/USFWS.

A big thank you to Lisa, Sarah, Joe, and Nicole for hosting us last week!