Joel Alves |
Member
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WildlifeVets.com
Wildlife Veterinarian |
I currently work as a wildlife veterinarian in a practice based in the lowveld of South Africa, working in a number of our incredible protected areas. Instead of Disney movies I found myself growing up engrossed in the Joubert & Varty documentaries of the 90s, which was the spark for the development of my current passion for conservation. It snowballed from that point and today I find myself in a very privileged position to work as close as is possible with the incredible and charismatic species we find on our continent. I have always had a special interest in predators, none more so than Leopards (Which I probably shouldn't be mentioning on a lion forum;)) but have found myself working extensively with lions in differing scenarios although all with conservation based outcomes. I have recently spent a substantial amount of time in small airplanes, with sleeping lions attempting to perfect the safest methods and drug combinations for their transport which has become a keen interest of mine considering the contention surrounding the best way to transport for relocation. I am still early in my career but have inextinguishable aspirations to follow in the footsteps of conservation veterinarian greats such as Dr's Cobus Raath, Pete Morkel & Dave Cooper. I always strive to be more than just a veterinarian, to ensure that my practises are ecologically sound and responsible in an ever-changing and complicated world of conservation. Working together and amalgamating all resources is the only way forward.
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