successes — wildlife
Morris Animal Foundation funded its first wildlife study in 1967, a study on infectious disease in zoo animals at the University of Illinois. Since then, we have funded 247 wildlife studies totaling $10 million. We are currently funding over $1.5 million for wildlife health research. Our successes:
- Legal Protection for California Sea Otters: A series of studies greatly improved knowledge of infectious disease risk factors for endangered California sea otters. This research helped to guide management policies for sea otter populations and supported state legislation that increased legal protection of this species.
- Veterinary Care for Mountain Gorillas: The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) has provided emergency veterinary care for more than 20 years to the highly endangered mountain gorillas of east central Africa. Thanks in part to this project, mountain gorillas are the only great ape species whose population is on the rise.
- Reproductive Help for Cheetahs: Researchers established a sperm genome resource bank for highly endangered Namibian cheetahs as well as protocols that now allow wildlife veterinarians to use assisted reproductive technologies without having to move wild animals from their natural habitat in Africa.
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- Assisted Breeding for Amphibians: Investigators developed assisted breeding protocols that resulted in the world’s first endangered amphibians produced by in-vitro fertilization and then released into the wild.
- Birth of Giant Pandas in Captivity: Foundation funding assisted in the development of artificial insemination protocols that resulted in the births of the baby pandas at the National Zoo in 2005 and the Atlanta Zoo in 2006.
- Pain Control for Fish: Researchers determined pain in fish can be controlled by analgesics. Veterinarians working with fish can now determine dosage regimens that provide pain relief to pet fish.
- Safer Anesthesia for Giraffes: Researchers established a safe anesthetic-drug combination for giraffes, and several captive giraffes that required surgical procedures have already benefited from this anesthetic combination.
- Diagnostic Tests for Infectious Disease in Turtles: Researchers developed tests for turtles and tortoises to determine whether they have active infection or exposure to Ranavirus. Through this project, the lead investigator developed his laboratory into a nationwide resource for diagnosing this fatal infection in these animals.
