Beyond providing excellent care for the institution’s collection, Lincoln Park Zoo’s veterinary staff also conducts research to advance the science of veterinary medicine.

Read on to get a closer look at ongoing veterinary research projects.

Peregrine Falcon Comparative Plasma Chemistries

The Chicago Peregrine Project was started in Chicago in 1989 with a goal of re-establishing a self-sustaining population of peregrine falcons to the Midwestern United States. At the start of the program, only one breeding pair was known to nest in the area. Thanks to the efforts of the project team, 12 pairs are now breeding. In 2004, Illinois became the first state to remove the peregrine falcon from the endangered list, upgrading the species to threatened.

The Lincoln Park Zoo hospital veterinary staff has assisted with this project, beginning with blood collection from chicks in the nest. Veterinary technicians collect a small blood sample for genetic testing and sex determination. They then place two bands on the chicks’ legs, aiding future identification and tracking of the falcon’s travel patterns.

Beyond working with chicks in the nest, veterinary staff are called upon when fledglings have landed on city streets. The birds are transported to Lincoln Park Zoo’s C.H. “Doc” Searle, M.D. Animal Hospital, where they are assessed by the veterinarian for injury and given supportive care, if needed, until they can be placed with a rehabilitator for releases.

A female peregrine falcon hunts at North Avenue beach. This female and her mate nest on St. Michael's church in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

In a separate project, paired plasma samples were collected during routine banding of 50 peregrine falcon nestlings over the last four years. The plasma was used to compare to evaluate the efficacy of different lab processing methods (routinely spun samples in a centrifuge versus samples collected from a hematocrit tube) in the hope of expanding testing opportunities for the species. The plasma also provided blood chemistry reference values for clinically normal wild peregrine falcons aged 12–40 days.

Preliminary data shows little to no differences in plasma chemistry values between the two testing methods. All results appear to be within accepted standard laboratory variances for young raptor species. 

For more information on the Peregrine Project:
www.fieldmuseum.org  (The Field Museum)
www.fws.gov  (Fish and Wildlife)
www.birds.cornell.edu (Cornell University)
www.Peregrinefund.org (The Peregrine Fund)