Wildlife SOS, WII host vet training workshop in UP

Agra: In a collaborative initiative,

Wildlife

SOS and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun organised an exposure visit and orientation workshop for veterinary officers of the Uttarakhand Forest Department on Monday.

The officer trainees are undergoing training in wildlife management, medical care, human-wildlife conflict mitigation and managing wild animals in distress.

Following the orientation session with the Wildlife SOS veterinarians at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, which currently houses nearly 200 rescued sloth bears, the team visited the Elephant Conservation and Care Center. Management and upkeep of rescued sloth bears, demonstration of routine bear procedures, elephant management along with scientific and humane elephant management techniques were the key aspects of this workshop.

The workshop started with a tour of the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital, the first of its kind in India. It has been specifically designed to treat injured, sick or geriatric elephants and is equipped with the state of art equipment and medical facilities.

Scientist and course coordinator at WII, Parag Nigam, said the objective of the workshop was to gain better technical field expertise and understanding of various wildlife health issues and also, sensitize them regarding recent advancement in the area of animal capture and wildlife forensics.