In many instances, zoo veterinarians actually start out their careers doing small or large animal work in private practice. The main difference is that while most veterinarians may work on 2-3 species of animals, zoo veterinarians have to be ready to tackle problems in literally hundreds of different species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even fish. This wide variety of responsibilities makes cooperation amongst other zoo veterinarians very important. The wide variety of species we have to work on also leads to other specialties. For example, some veterinarians are experts on fish and all the various problems they have while others are more interested in elephants or the big cats.
Immobilizations are one of the biggest challenges in zoo veterinary medicine.
There are almost as many ways to get an animal to go to sleep as there are types of animals. The Memphis Zoo has three grizzly bears. Their names are Teddy, Kickipoo, and Nankipoo. Awhile back, Nankipoo was immobilized for a physical exam. During the examination, she was found to have a large draining tract coming out of the bottom of her jaw where the root of one of her canine teeth was rotten.