[이상한 동물원⑪]Wild animals hide their painful areas

Construction of the Cheongju Zoo Wildlife Conservation Center is in full swing.

Inside the center, there is a storage room for endangered species’ reproductive cells, an examination room, and an operating room. Due to the nature of wild animals that hide diseases, regular checkups are necessary for early detection. At this time, reproductive cells can be collected using a simple method. Freezing storage of reproductive cells is one way to preserve native wild animals that are in danger of disappearing from this land. Additionally, there are species that are resistant to certain infectious diseases and those that are weak to certain infectious diseases. By studying the germline genes of native animals that have a long history with Koreans, we may be able to find the key to Koreans’ defense against zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19. Several countries are already conducting joint research, the so-called Zoonomia Project. More than half of the research materials for this project are said to be various wild animal reproductive cells that were frozen and stored at the National Smithsonian Zoo in the United States.

View larger photo

Veterinarian Kim Jeong-ho emphasized that regular checkups are necessary for early detection due to the nature of wild animals that hide diseases. This is why zoos must have animal hospitals.

Recently, a research team at the Smithsonian Zoo published a plan in an international academic journal to store cells from endangered species on the moon. To freeze and store cells on Earth, liquid nitrogen or ultra-low temperature freezers down to 196 degrees are required, but the cold moon is a permanent storage that does not require any additional equipment or energy. Imagine the cells of domestic endangered species being loaded onto a rocket. Will I feel reassured by what I have stored away every time I look at the moon? Would you feel bitter about the extinction situation? Anyway, I hope that the reproductive cells stored at Cheongju Zoo will be meaningful to Koreans and native wild animals in the future!

The center is a veterinary hospital with an examination room and operating room. When I joined Cheongju Zoo as its first resident veterinarian, there was no animal hospital. Since it was a temporary visit by a veterinarian from an external animal hospital, all there was was a table and a few boxes of syringes in a warehouse-like place. After that, medical equipment was frequently requested from the budget department. Coincidentally, the team leader in charge raised deer, so I had a great understanding of animals. With the X-ray machine brought into the warehouse, it felt quite like a hospital. The test materials were taken from the graduate school laboratory I was attending. I think the professor knew but turned a blind eye to it. Eight years after joining the company, the animal hospital currently in use was built. Because it was built on a small budget, the roof occasionally leaked rainwater and there were many disappointing aspects. However, research papers on endangered species were published here, and with the help of other veterinarians, open surgery for lions was successfully performed for the first time in Korea. It is currently used as a clinical pathology laboratory to study diseases of native wild animals under the leadership of an internal medicine veterinarian, and two research papers were published in academic journals this year.

View larger photo

A level 2 endangered cat according to the Ministry of Environment. Non-invasive sperm collection through the ureter. Provided by Cheongju Zoo

Wild animals hide their weaknesses. They seem to instinctively know that illness and injury are disadvantages in competition in the wild. When performing autopsies on animals that died in the past, it was surprising how they endured pain in this condition. In order to alleviate the suffering of wild animals living in zoos, physical abnormalities must be detected early. For this, regular health checkups are essential. The examination room of the newly built center has a large window. We plan to disclose the health check-up to zoo program participants. The operating room is not open to the public because the veterinarians have to concentrate, but the veterinarians have the peace of mind to conduct examinations based on the animal’s health, so they can explain what they are doing to the participants.

Cheongju Zoo is not a place where you can always see animals. There are times when animals are not visible. Whether an animal goes out from the inner room to the release area where visitors can see it is a choice based on its condition. However, there are many people who want to see animals that do not appear. Therefore, alternatives such as public health checkups are needed. Although it is a job for the animals, I believe that the direction of animal welfare at the municipal Cheongju Zoo can be maintained only if visitors can also enjoy it. Among zoo visitors, there are rural elders who are less fond of animals or who dislike wild animals. It is said that wild animals only cause harm to people in the countryside, but visiting the zoo with the family is fun. The granddaughter who came with us said, “Grandpa and Grandma!” This is a good opportunity to say, “Wild animals are essential for spreading various plant seeds and circulating the ecosystem.” Also, if you learn about the difficult lives of wild animals, you may feel a sense of kinship, saying, “You must have a hard life, too.”

View larger photo

A look at the Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine simulation lab. Practicing with animal-shaped cotton dolls. Provided by Cheongju Zoo

I bought a large lion and teddy bear for the days when I didn’t have a checkup. I plan to work with other veterinarians to make the inside of the doll look like the inside of a real body. The Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine that I recently visited had a simulation lab. There were animal models that allowed students to virtually perform various diagnoses and surgeries for clinical practice. The simulation lab had the great advantage of allowing students to learn skills to their heart’s content without worrying about unnecessary suffering to animals.

Although it was more than 20 years ago, I remember my internal medicine practice sessions during veterinary school. Team members were taking turns practicing blood collection with one dog, but when the dog was having a hard time, some students hesitated or refused the practice. In surgical practice, euthanasia was expected on the last day of the mock surgery. Although no one asked them to do so, students bought food that dogs would like on their way to school. The rule is to fast before surgery, but we all know that that day is meaningless. After eating as much delicious food as he wants, the dog goes for one last walk. Students holding leashes are unusually silent. The dog is administered an anesthetic and falls into a deep sleep. Students pray in their hearts. I hope you are not born as anything else in your next life… .

View larger photo

A veterinary student currently practicing at the Cheongju Zoo animal hospital. A tiger is undergoing a health checkup. Provided by Cheongju Zoo

The most elaborate part of the center is the operating room. Microorganisms such as bacteria are controlled by maintaining positive pressure in the operating room and filtering incoming air. Surgery on wild animals, especially wild animals such as lions and tigers, is difficult. Because access is not possible without anesthesia, post-operative treatment is also limited. Therefore, a minimally invasive approach that facilitates postoperative treatment is necessary. Just as most minimally invasive surgeries are performed on humans, interest in animal hospitals has recently increased as it can reduce pain in companion animals. Thanks to the help of Cheongju City and the National Heritage Administration, medical equipment capable of performing minimally invasive surgeries on various animals will be introduced next year. Cheongju Zoo is a base zoo for the Ministry of Environment and also plays a role in training wildlife personnel. I hope that Cheongju Zoo’s Wildlife Conservation Center will become a common center where veterinarians from zoos, aquariums, and wild animal rescue centers across the country can share their talents, and students can learn and practice to observe more wild animals.

View larger photo

Veterinarians from zoos across the country gathered at Cheongju Zoo to provide treatment for zebras, which were difficult to access. Provided by Cheongju Zoo

A few days ago, I went to a friend’s book concert hosted by the Environment and Life Culture Foundation as a performer. The book is the story of a working teacher who goes to Thailand’s Elephant Natural Park every year to care for elephants with many stories. An audience member asked what he thought about animal rights as a zoo veterinarian. The level of the questions exceeded my knowledge, so I thought I should study philosophy about animals in the future. Animals are still legally considered property, and many animals are raised for food. Currently, people who do not understand the language of animals speak for animal rights instead of those who know more about animals.

In order to return to the zoo, I worked as a slaughter inspector for a year. I saw the death and suffering of countless cows every day. What I felt at that time was that the way to relieve a cow’s pain was to technically and accurately hit the vital spot on the head at once. If dying well is a right, then the provincial government was the most merciful people at that moment. As a veterinarian, there were many moments when I was unable to prevent the death of animals. However, pain can be reduced through veterinary care.

Kim Jeong-ho, veterinarian
I have been working as a veterinarian for over 20 years at Cheongju Zoo, a ‘special zoo’ whose main purpose is the rescue and protection of wild animals. I wanted to become a wild animal veterinarian, but when I graduated from veterinary school, there was no job treating wild animals, so I worked at a zoo as an alternative. We hope that the zoo will become a shelter for wild animals that have nowhere to go and a treatment center for wild animals that will help them return to nature. His books include (2021).