Carmen is a male two-toed sloth from South America and Jo is a four ton female elephant from Africa. They each have their own keepers who take care of them on a daily basis, but who do you call when they get sick? That’s Dr. Mike Selig’s job. As a staff veterinarian at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, he oversees the health and well-being of more than 2,500 animals.

We visited the zoo on a cold, raw day in late February, the day after a swollen creek had flooded the lower lying areas. The zoo was closed to the public because of the mess left behind and while crews rushed around cleaning up, we were given the royal treatment, taken into the inner resources of some of the zoo’s buildings. We watched Dr. Selig perform Carmen’s examination from only a few feet away. I was able to touch Carmen’s fur (it feels quite coarse) while he was still asleep. We found that you have to step in pans of disinfectant as you move through every doorway in the zoo’s medical building so as to not spread any germs. We walked through the business side of a primate exhibit in the zoo’s Rain Forest so Dr. Selig could check on a patient – and it smelled pretty exotic on that side of the glass. Most fascinating of all, we got a close-up view of the elephant keeper and Dr. Selig as they worked through Jo’s exam – much closer than zoo visitors get as they walk through this brand new building in the zoo’s new African Elephant Crossing exhibit. We had to stay behind the red line, just out of trunk’s reach!

Dr. Mike Selig, Zoo Veterinarian, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

WVIZ/PBS ideastream® developed “Great Job!”, a video series for the 6th through 8th grade STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), designed to raise student and community awareness of STEM careers and the education available through Ohio’s K-12 and University system. In his “Great Job!” profile, Dr. Selig talks about his job as a zoo veterinarian, his responsibilities and duties, as well as the training and formal education he received at the Ohio State University. He also tells us about all the different fields of science that come into play in his job. We follow the doctor through a “typical” day as he works with both keepers and veterinary assistants. Two of the highlights are a routine checkup of a sloth and a physical examination of an elephant.

I didn’t grow up in a rural isolated town. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and animals had a great deal of influence on my childhood.

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered a tiger trainer. I loved animals and I lived in a suburb where contact with wildlife was common. My mom would go into hysterics every time my brother or I would bring home a lizard or a snake found on the way home from school. Growing up in Orinda, we had a creek that ran the perimeter of our backyard. Many days, my brother and I would scramble down its length on a grand adventure. We found fish, lizards, snakes, rodents and fresh water crawdads and most often one or two would find their way home.

When I was twelve, we moved to the adjoining town, Moraga. I ran cross-country in high school and we ran the reservoir trails often. We were told to run in packs because of the mountain lions that lived in the area. One mountain lion was seen crossing the bike trail one day in the middle of town. We had coyotes running and howling behind our house each night and a wild turkey even adopted us and lived in our backyard for over a month.

I didn’t grow up in a rural isolated town. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and animals had a great deal of influence on my childhood. My family’s expert for native wildlife was the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. The museum’s goal is and has historically been to connect people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share. Alexander Lindsay founded the museum in the early 1950’s. The museum started out in an elementary school and taught school children about the natural world through classes and field trips. In 1965, the museum was moved to a permanent station in Walnut Creek in Larkey park. A 5000 square foot unoccupied water pump house housed the museum and it was here were they first displayed non-releasable native animals. I have very fond memories of the pump house. I can still picture its halls and the locations of my favorite bobcat. We used to call when we had animal questions, be it an injured bird or lizard and once when a brand new fawn wandered into our yard. The Lindsay Wildlife Museum often got calls about lost or injured animals and started a rehabilitation program in 1970; it was the first program of its kind in the United States.

My goal as a child was to become an interpretive guide at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Back then you had to be thirteen to apply. (Now you can be as young as 12.) Right when I turned thirteen I applied; however, I was turned down and was completely devastated. I applied again later that year and was accepted. I loved volunteering at the museum; I started out in the lending library with rats, hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs and worked up to snakes, raptors, and opossums. I then become a member of the mammal team and worked with bobcats and foxes. I have so many wonderful memories of working with these animals.

Now I get up really early every Tuesday in order to volunteer at the Steinhart Aquarium. I look forward to going in and interacting with the animals and asking questions of the trainers. There is a deep joy I get working and being with animals. I got the bug very early in my life but it is still gives me great joy. I believe that places like the California Academy of Sciences and Lindsay Wildlife Museum let people get close to wildlife in a way that’s respectful and educational. Aquariums and zoos give the public the chance to get up close and attached and in so doing, give them a reason to believe in conservation.

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Often at the California Academy of Sciences, you will see docents out on the floor of the museum with an example from our live animal collection.

You've probably heard of this bacteria before, as an unpleasant bug that sometimes finds its way into high-protein foods such as meat, fish, and eggs. It is also naturally found on and in many reptiles, and does not usually make the animals sick, but if passed to humans– particularly young children, the elderly and infirm — it can cause a serious infection called Salmonellosis.

But selecting the right anti-microbial was not as easy a choice as we thought it would be.

Food and Drug Administration published reports question the use of antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers, saying that it found no medical studies that showed a link between a specific consumer antibacterial product and a decline in infection rates. Plus, regular soap kills 90% of bacteria and leaves little impact on the environment.

Additionally, anti-bacterial products like Purell use synthetic polymers known as Triclocarban and triclosan to kill off bacteria. Triclosan is known to promote the growth of resistant bacteria, including E. coli, and both pose environmental toxicity risks; after washing your hands or washing the dishes they can get into the waste water system. Because they do not break down or get filtered out during waste water treatment, up to 75 percent of the original amount gets into the Bay. Once in the environment, these products have been known to disrupt the health of marine life and other wildlife.

So Academy scientists went in search of an alternative product that does not contain the above 2 agents, and has recommended Vionex Antimicrobial Soap for our public programs. Commonly used in the medical, dental, and law enforcement industries, Vionex uses a different antimicrobial agent called PCMX, or parachlorometaxylenol, which is considered significantly less toxic to humans and other mammals that Triclocarban and Triclosan.

What you can do at home

Even if you are not handling reptiles daily like we are, you can take action to reduce exposure to toxic anti-microbials. Whenever possible avoid products that are labeled “anti-bacterial.” Products that are likely to be anti-bacterial are most hand-sanitizers, hand wipes, cleaning products, and dishwasher detergent. If you must use hand-sanitizers, consider natural ones such as Hand-Sanz (found at Whole Food or Bristol Farms).

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It will probably take more than a human FOXP2 gene to reach this future.

People with a certain version of this gene have trouble forming words and speaking but are otherwise OK.  This is exactly what you would expect if a gene were primarily involved in speech.

One way to test this idea would be to put the human version of the gene into an animal and see what happens to that animal's speech.  A natural candidate would be the chimpanzee.  Humans and chimps are around 98.8% similar at the DNA level* and their FOXP2 gene has only two differences.

Unfortunately (or fortunately…), we can't yet do this experiment because we aren't very good at changing a chimp's genes.  But what we are good at is changing a mouse's gene.  And this is exactly what scientists did in a new study.

The scientists changed a mouse's FOXP2 gene into a human's.  Now no one expected that we'd have a Mickey Mouse on our hands.  Mice just don't have all the equipment for speech and it is really unlikely that the only difference between mice and people in terms of speech is this gene.

But by putting a human FOXP2 gene in mice, we can learn some things about how the gene influences human speech.  Does it change the vocalization part of the brain?  Does it change something with mouth anatomy?  Something with breathing?

The results with these mice were interesting.  They weren't suddenly chatty but changing the gene definitely caused the mice to emit different squeaks than their natural cousins.  The vocalization part of the mouse's brain also changed.

These results suggest that FOXP2 affects human speech at least partly through changes in the brain.  And that if you give a mouse a human Foxp2 gene, you change the way it communicates.

The next steps are a little harder to figure out.  We do know that Neanderthals had the same FOXP2 gene that we do.  Perhaps by comparing human, chimp and Neanderthal DNA we'll be able to find other genes involved in speech too.  We'll have to wait a few months for this kind of analysis as the Neanderthal genome isn't quite done yet.

*When we include extra copies of some DNA and missing DNA, the similarity goes down to 96%.

Here is a video discussing the results of the study.

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Once upon a time in the far away land of Hong Kong, a woman named Jill Robinson discovered that beautiful moon bears where being held captive in tiny cages in China and farmed (through their bellies) as a living source for bear bile, which is used in traditional medicines. She decided to do something heroic about the issue and founded the Animals Asia Foundation. Animals Asia became a thriving organization, dedicated to ending cruelty and restoring respect for all animals in Asia.

For many moon bears, their stories have a happy ending. Jill and the AAF crew have rescued 500 bears, releasing them into their idyllic sanctuary in Chengdu China. Newly rescued moon bears tentatively step on fresh grass, slowly learn to climb, socialize, scamper through bamboo, wrestle and eat honey, finally becoming a real bear.

Of course, the bears can't go from cages to sanctuary directly; they must endure urgent veterinary care and often surgery to remove the bile equipment from their bodies. Bears must be anaesthetized to receive this care and it is important that they stay warm and comfortable during the process. Just as with humans, the bears' extremities are the first things to get cold and that is where knitters on the West Coast of the United States, worlds away, come in. They must knit giant bear mittens!

The Oakland Zoo is hoping to have some mittens knitted in order to hand them directly to Jill Robinson on May 21, when she speaks at the Oakland Zoo. We will have a knitting party at the zoo on Friday, May 9, from 1pm-3pm. However, mittens can be turned in to the Oakland Zoo at anytime and mailed to China in the hopes that the thousands of moon bears still in captivity will need them soon.

The mitten pattern allows for several weights of yarn and includes instructions for knitting in the round with one circular, two circulars, double-pointed needles, or knitting flat. Finished mittens are about 7" wide (14" circumference) with a 12" foot and 6" cuff. The pattern is intended to be beginner level, but if you have any questions about the techniques mentioned, you might find the website knittinghelp.com helpful.

Click here for the pattern and try it yourself:

bearbooties.pdf

The Oakland Zoo will be working with Article Pract in Oakland on more mittens for bears.

Find out more about Moon Bears and their plight, and meet Jill Robinson on Wednesday, May 21 at 6:30 for the lecture entitle, "From Prison to Paradise: Rescuing the Endangered Asian Moon Bear. Bring the family to Bear Day at the Oakland Zoo on Saturday, May 17.

Some of this information is thanks to Twisted, the Knit Shop in Oregon who is helping the Oregon zoo knit mittens.


Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

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It’s 8:15 am on a sunny Monday; time to head to work.

Got my work bag? Check. Keys? Check. Purse? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Waste-free, organic lunch? Check.

Cat Carrier? Check.

I gather my 6 month-old cats, Bear and Elphia, and off I go.

I first brought them to work as tiny kittens out of necessity. I rescued them at a music festival at a mountain ranch when they were too young to be left alone. Fortunately, I had a nice boss and an open-minded, animal-loving staff and was able to bring them in to work with me. With them at the office, I could monitor their well-being, take needed cuddle and scratch breaks and not worry about rushing home.

As fall unfolded into winter and the cats grew up, they came to love their office time. They gladly jump in their carrier in the morning and upon release in the office, they happily saunter about visiting their adopted aunts and uncles. They can be found snoozing on laps, squished behind employees on their chairs, lounging in baskets or on shelves, sprawled on keyboards, chasing laser lights piloted by staff down the hallway or mischievously exploring our bio-fact bin (snake sheds, feathers, etc.).

The staff enjoys the exotic-looking Elphia and her climbing antics, as well as the big, soft and seemingly boneless Bear and his infamous, floppy bear-hugs. Even zoo keepers come around for some feline therapy. The cats have made me feel popular.

Bear and Elphia are joined by staff canines, as well. Trinity brings Mae, claiming that her border-collie mix makes work less stressful. Jamie brings Haley, stating that her Cavelier King Charles Spaniel brightens her day and keeps her chair warm. The office pets do indeed bring laughs to a sometimes stressful day, connect our staff to each other, relax us and give us perspective, and basically make us happier people.

Our office does have protocols around pets: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are designated pet days; no pets in the library (for those who are allergic); and staff takes full responsibility for accidents.

The San Francisco SPCA claims that offices that allow pets experience increased productivity and employee satisfaction, and decreased absenteeism. Is this not a win-win-win practice?

Jessica, who does not have a pet of her own, likes that there are animals at work for her to connect with, though she admits they can be slightly distracting. I don’t know what she is talking about.

What? Bear is drinking water from the toilet again? I had better go………..

Care to share the pros and cons of pets in the office? Please do!

Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

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