VN November 2022

Vetnews | November 2022 19 By Ryan Nel While attending the second dipping and darting weekend held by OP wildlife club, we got a glimpse into what it means to be a wildlife vet. We started with an early morning lecture on wildlife immobilization and a product display fromMotsumi darts. After the lectures, we grabbed a cup of coffee and went straight out for practical demonstrations on dart gun safety and operation. This is where the fun began. We hopped on the back of a cruizer and headed out to the Buffalo camp. We darted 3 buffalo and walked them out of the camp onto the trailers, all while Dr. Hendrik Hansen was explaining to us what tests to run and why wemust do pregnancy diagnostics on these animals. We were able to do rectal examinations and test our limited skills. We reversed the animals and saw the wake-up process first hand. After lunch we had some target practice with Dr. Pretorius from Matsumi darts. Then, thanks to Afrivet, we got to dip wildlife with red dot paintballs from a helicopter. To top off an amazing experience, we enjoyed some sponsored prego rolls while watching the African sunset. v I was disappointed that the 29th of May 2022 (Sunday) arrived so soon, because this meant that we had to pack up and go home, but like they always say: “Time flies when you are having fun.” and this was indeed the case. Thank you to everyone who made this possible – this is an experience I would really recommend to any veterinary and veterinary nurse student. Lelanie Terblanche, Heinrich Potgieter, Marine Nieuwoudt Marine Nieuwoudt Ryan Nel, Heinrich Potgieter