Calgary Zoo partners with Animal Care Centre

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

The Calgary Zoo announced last week they will be partnering with the Animal Care Centre (ACC) of Strathmore in a new initiative to provide the zoo with veterinary support services so the zoo can expand their wildlife conservation work with high risk and endangered species.
“The ultimate goal of this partnership is wildlife conservation and we are so excited to be involved in this. [Wildlife conservation] is a door we haven’t been able to open before,” said Dr. Jodi Viste, veterinarian and owner of ACC.
ACC will be hiring five new fully-qualified staff members by May to work at the animal health centre at the Calgary Zoo: one veterinarian, two vet technologists and two animal care assistants for zoo keepers, to assist the two current staff vets at the zoo.
Currently, ACC has 28 staff members, all of whom will continue to work at the clinic. ACC veterinarian Dr. Rand Davis will be spending some time managing the new staff throughout the transitional phase in collaboration with the Calgary Zoo.
Viste’s primary goal through this partnership is to uphold and maintain the quality of care to all patients at ACC, and continue those same values and mission with the care of the animals at the zoo and wildlife conservation centre.
“For current staff members, there will be opportunities for them to join in some volunteer programs to get some experience with zoo animals, and they will be able to receive some training if they wish to pursue this avenue. Or they can just get some hands-on experience with zoo animals that they can be proud of,” said Viste.
Viste, who grew up in Calgary, also has her zoology degree as well as her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She believes that for her everything has come full circle: she is a vet, she has the degree and now she is tied in with the zoo that she grew up loving. Viste is excited about the opportunity to get behind the scenes and possibly get her hands dirty.
Currently the zoo also runs and manages the Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre (DWCC) near De Winton, Alta. At the DWCC, several high risk and endangered species are held in captive breeding and release programs, including the burrowing owl, northern leopard frog, greater sage grouse, Vancouver Island marmot and Przewalski’s wild horse among other species. Due to population encroachment, the zoo is looking to move the facility to a parcel of land just south of Strathmore.
“The city is getting closer and closer (to the DWCC) and that is starting to become a challenge. Our concern with breeding sensitive and endangered wildlife species is that we want to be somewhat isolated, and right now we are becoming too populated in the area where our current facilities are,” said Jamie Dorgan, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, adding that the zoo is looking to expand their current conservation program to help other species within Western Canada, such as the woodland caribou.
The zoo had been looking at several potential options within the past year to help with current vet care and to give them a greater overall efficiency and flexibility. Because the ACC is a mixed practice and deals with both small and large animals, their strong standard and quality of animal care and their shared values in conservation of endangered species, they were an ideal candidate for the zoo to partner up with. A bonus is their location near Strathmore.
“The Town of Strathmore should be very proud that the zoo is in the process of trying to move the DWCC so close to town. We can take pride that wildlife conservation effort are being done in our municipality,” said Viste adding that it is a great opportunity to help even more endangered species, and that businesses in Strathmore will benefit by having the centre so close to town because it will create jobs.
“If we can be involved in ensuring that many more endangered species [are helped] in Alberta here, that is phenomenal. That is the main reason we are excited about this project,” said Viste.
Another reason for the two centres merging is that they will be able to learn from each other, use each other’s resources and share experiences working in conservation.
“This is a good opportunity to potentially use the resources of the ACC clinic, whether that is people, equipment or the clinic itself,” said Dorgan. “It is always exciting to get more people involved in what we are doing. We are looking forward to getting Jodi and her staff on board to continue what we are doing and helping with the conservation of even more animals.”
Viste believes the knowledge she and her staff will gain from this partnership will benefit the ACC and how they understand the species they take care of daily.
“This allows us to grow and tap into the knowledge from the current vet team at the zoo about those exotic animals. Any kind of education and knowledge that we can gain about any species will help us better understand the species that we deal with all the time,” she said.
Although they are still in the early stages of planning and setting up the partnership, and the exact fate of the DWCC has yet to be decided, Viste said she is confident her team will thrive with this new unique opportunity and they should all be proud to work in conservation efforts for endangered species.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be working in collaboration with the Calgary Zoo,” said Viste. “To say I was excited when we were approached by the zoo is an understatement.”
The ACC won the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association 2016 Practice of the Year award.