My
name is Julie Pomerantz, I am a veterinarian and I live
in New York City. I graduated from Cornell University's
College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997 and still work with
laboratories there for my research on the diseases threats
to Madagascar's endemic wildlife. When I am at home in New
York I work at several hospitals where we care for dogs,
cats, birds other pets. For the last five years, I have
worked with the fossateam in Madagascar where we are collecting
information about the health of wild fossas and other carnivores.
We are finding out what it means to be a healthy wild animal
and also what diseases both domestic and wild animals may
suffer. Since the animals in Madagascar have evolved in
isolation they may be particularly sensitive to new diseases
which are being introduced. Collaborators and I collect
blood samples, parasites and fecal samples for laboratory
analyses both here in Madagascar and also in the U.S. We
also collect samples for use in studies of fossa genetics.
Being the only vet in the region means that you never know
when other animals requiring medical attention will show
up. During each field season I see a number of animals -
mostly lemurs - which have been oprhaned or injured as the
result of fires, poaching or other human activities. None
of these events are planned, but we're always prepared for
any contingency. A few years ago, we raised a mongoose lemur
from infancy - its mom had been killed in a forest fire.
