Week 10:
Forever a Turtle Tracker

July 30, 2022

It was an amazing and wild final week working at the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine!

We started to work on Monday preparing supplies for next round of microbiome sampling. We created labels for the 195 cryotubes used to hold swab samples and pipetted autoclaved molecular biology grade water into a sterile tubes. We ensured that we had all of the necessary equipment to both track the turtles and take all of our required samples. In the afternoon, I continued to review camera trap footage, especially the footage that we had collected the prior week. As I sorted through hundreds of videos, I saw something that nearly made me jump for joy. The female bobcat that I had become familiar with and liked to frequent the area around camera trap 1 had returned. This time was different however as she had four healthy cubs in tow!

Later in the week, we headed out to collect microbiome samples from the Forest Park turtles. We were able to collect swabs and blood samples from all the study turtles even with the muddy and wet conditions! I also had the opportunity to practice making some blood slides in the field which is a crucial part of this baseline health monitoring project. I definitely still need a lot of practice before I can consistently make good slides, but it’s always amazing to work on new skills that will help me in my future career. It was nice to see all of the Forest Park turtles one last time before I headed back home.

The next day we tracked all of the Tyson turtles and again collected microbiome and blood samples. One of the turtles, Sage, had moved pretty far away from its last known location and took some extra time to locate. He had moved up and over a ridge that was pretty steep, which made it pretty fun to hike back up to the car. In the afternoon, we processed and inventoried all of the samples, including measuring packed-cell volume, blood total solids, and banking the remaining serum for future use. We also had the chance to practice making blood slides in the lab using extra raccoon blood from the previous week. One of the slides that we made even had a blood parasite which was pretty cool to see!

It wasn’t all hard work for my final week. The other interns and I were able to attend the Sea Lion Show and learn about the natural behaviors and challenges facing their wild counterparts. It was amazing to learn about these incredible animals! We also headed to one final Jungle Boogie to celebrate the end of the summer and visit some of the animals one last time.

On my final day working with the ICM, we worked on reviewing camera trap footage and headed over to the bird house to tag a three-toed box turtle that was moving to the Cypress Swamp exhibit. It was a sad moment to be working with my final turtle for the summer, but I also felt a unique sense of excitement about my future pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. My experiences working with the Institute for Conservation Medicine were spectacular. I had the chance to learn more about the challenges facing native Missouri species while also directly contributing to their conservation through weekly health checks. I learned about the connections between animal, human, and environmental health that tie us all together. And, perhaps most importantly, I got to work with and get to know an incredible group of people working to care for the natural world. I cannot thank the ICM team and my fellow interns enough for making this summer truly unforgettable. I have always been amazed with animals, but the people I have been able to meet on my path towards veterinary medicine are truly remarkable. I also wanted to thank Jon and Jean Reynolds for their generous support in making this opportunity possible. I can’t wait to see what my future holds and what adventures (and maybe turtles) I’ll chase next!