Dr. Sharon Deem, Associate Veterinarian at the National Zoo, recently returned to Washington, D.C., after a trip to Africa, where she was helping with a project on forest elephants. We asked Dr. Deem to share with us some details of this exciting trip.
Welcome back. Where exactly did you go on this trip?
I traveled to the Republic of Congo, which is in central Africa, in late March and early April. Congo is a French-speaking country because it was once a French colony and still has many ties with France. I camped out in the forest for two weeks during this trip.
After a couple days of logistical preparations in Brazzaville, the capital, I traveled to Ouesso in the north of Congo. I worked with a team of scientists, Drs. Stephen Blake of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Robin Radcliffe of Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, as well as local trackers Mambele, Mossimbo, Adouma, and Monyaka, who are members of the Bambenjelle people, and a Bantu-speaking Kaka (another local people) field assistant, Sylvan. From Ouesso, we moved into and around the forest by boat, land rover, and by hiking to a variety of campsites.
Why did you go to the Republic of Congo to search for elephants?
I went to help with monitoring of forest elephants. In Congo, these elephants travel in the national parks as well as in areas that are increasingly inhabited by people. My job on this trip was to immobilize and anesthetize elephants so that a biologist could place GPS (Global Positioning System) telemetry collars on them. These collars, which weigh nearly 30 pounds, will be used to monitor where the elephants travel and determine how much space they need to travel in. This, in turn, will be used to determine how much land must be protected to ensure sufficient living space for these wild animals.
Sharon Deem with an anesthetized elephant. (Photo by Steve Blake.) On this trip did you work with the people who live in the same area of Congo as elephants do?
Elephant studies in the region have been going on for years. During our trips to this area, the people who live in the nearby villages have helped us learn to better find, or track, the elephants in the forest. This is a surprisingly difficult task. Although the elephants often weigh as much as 2,500 kilograms [5,500 pounds], it’s not easy to find them in the dense forest. We, in turn, worked closely with the villagers to share with them the importance of conserving the forest animals.
What were the most exciting moments on the trip?
Searching for elephants is always exciting, because you never know when you will find one at a bai—a big wet, grassy clearing in the forest. The trick to finding forest elephants is to search around bais and sites where they come to drink water.
Immobilizing an elephant is always exciting, because it involves standing very close to these large animals, usually only 50 meters [165 feet] away, to safely administer the anesthesia. The first bull that I anesthetized on this trip was standing in a bai with water about three feet deep. I had to walk into the edge of the water and stand behind a small bush.
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| An elephant in a bai. (Photo by Steve Blake.) |
I knew I had to remain perfectly still so he did not know where I was standing as I shot the light-weight dart that delivered the anesthesia. This bull splashed water all about with his trunk and body. Three minutes felt like hours as we waited to see where he would go. He ran to the water’s edge and into the forest.
For 15 minutes we tracked him, with the Bambenjelle trackers leading the way through the forest. It was important to find the elephant right away because we wanted to be sure the anesthesia was safely administered.
Anesthesia of any wild animal, whether in the zoo or the wild, requires knowledge of the species' physiology and knowledge of the anesthetic drugs that are safe for that species. Knowing the physiology and safe drugs is crucial to help minimize risk to both the animal and to the humans who work on this.
What do you hope to learn from your trip?
The monitoring data that we will get from these telemetry collars over the next two years will show us where these elephants live and travel. We will work with our colleagues in Congo to determine how the areas that the elephants travel overlap with the areas where people live, and use this information to help ensure the long-term conservation of forest elephants.
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| A group of forest elephants in a bai. (Photo by Sharon Deem.) |
Also, when I anesthetize free-ranging wild animals such as the forest elephant, I collect samples (such as blood, ectoparasites, feces, and skin biopsies) to perform health assessments of the animals. There are very few baseline health data on some of the world's most endangered species in the wild. I believe that the conservation of a species is as much about maintaining the proper health of individuals and populations as it is about preserving habitat.
Visitors to the Zoo can learn about conservation efforts such as the elephant telemetry project. When they are watching the animals that live here at the Zoo, they can think about the areas where these animals live (this will be even easier when the geo-centric new areas are completed, including Asia Trail and Africa House) to understand threats to their survival in the wild, and to think about how they can help the long-term conservation of declining species.
When you are not traveling, what is your daily job at the Zoo?
As Associate Veterinarian at the National Zoo, I provide health care to the Zoo's 2,800 animals. In any one day, I may treat anything from a skin infection in a frog to a foot lesion in a rhino. I love the challenge of providing preventive and therapeutic medicine to animals of diverse species.
I also provide veterinary support to conservation field projects around the world. I enjoy knowing that my veterinary skills and knowledge are directly applied to the conservation of free-ranging animals in their habitats, and to helping ensure the long-term health of a variety of species around the globe.
Before joining to the National Zoo staff, Sharon Deem was field veterinarian with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Read her reports from the field:
Forest Elephants, 2000
Leatherback Turtles and Forest Elephants in Central Africa, 2001
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