A man carries his dog to be vaccinated.

Vaccinating dogs is hazardous at the best of times, but when the dogs in question are semi-feral, a whole new level of skill and speed is needed. One must approach the dog from behind, syringe in hand, and the vaccination needs to be completed in a single-handed rapid action. If you do it well, the dog often doesn’t even know s/he has been vaccinated, but get it slightly wrong, and you may have a snapping jaw aimed at your hand.

Incredibly, by the end of my three days working with the Lincoln Park Zoo–sponsored rabies vaccination team, hundreds of dogs had been vaccinated yet not one team member had been bitten.

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A tourist recently asked me the following question: “After more than five months of observing chimpanzees, do they still surprise you?”

(I know this is a cheesy way to begin an entry, but it actually happened, and before he even finished I knew the answer: “Yes, bila shaka” [Without a doubt].)

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Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, visited the Serengeti in June to showcase his support for rabies vaccination efforts managed by Lincoln Park Zoo.

McCall Smith and his wife were hosted by Sarah Cleaveland, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Glasgow, Lincoln Park Zoo collaborator and director of the Alliance for Rabies Control. Cleaveland developed the existing infrastructure for the domestic-dog vaccination project and continues to link the project to Tanzania’s larger rabies eradication programs.

Read about McCall Smith’s visit in the Alliance for Rabies Control Newsletter (link opens a PDF).

Endocrinologist Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., director of the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, takes us along as she and Vice President of Conservation & Science Dominic Travis, D.V.M., visit Lincoln Park Zoo conservation sites in Tanzania.

Click the image to start the slideshow!

I am now on the final month of my first field season, so all of the “lasts” are beginning to occur. I just went to town for my last round of errands, one of which was to pick up two care packages. Picking up packages is a mini-adventure of multiple visits to customs and post offices, making it just that much more worth it when you finally get the tasty treats inside.

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