The first week of Turtle Team is in the books! And I guess this blog... Our first week was very close to home in Vermilion County at four different sites within the Forest Preserve. We brought with us: John and his turtle dogs Paulo, a visiting veterinarian from Peru 20 veterinary medicine students The week [...]
John Cooling Two of the Dogs off With Water A crucial part of turtle team are the turtle dogs and their owner, John Rucker. One of the turtle dogs cooling off in the creek We use a highly trained canine search team of Boykin Spaniels to find the turtles and safely [...]
After a three and a half hour drive with a two car caravan packed with basically the entire lab of equipment and people we arrived at Nachusa Grasslands to this beautiful sight! Here was the crew for the week: From W.E.L.: Dr. Allender, Dr. Laura, Samantha, Kelsey, Marta From the Illinois Natural [...]
Welcome to our blog where we will be sharing our experiences this summer as we work with the Lake County Forest Preserve District to assess Blanding’s turtle health! As part of Dr. Matt Allender’s Wildlife Epidemiology Lab we have the opportunity to monitor and evaluate Illinois’ largest known population of Blanding’s turtles in a small [...]
Hi, my name is Samantha Johnson! I am finishing up my second year of veterinary school and am one of the coordinators for Turtle Team 2017. My interests in veterinary medicine include zoological, wildlife, and conservation medicine. Turtle Team 2016 One of the most fulfilling experiences was having the opportunity to participate in Turtle [...]
Most of us grow up with our friendly four legged friends, only knowing about slithery, scaly creatures from watching TV or movies. Think of a movie with a character played by a dog... Did you think of Beethoven, the giant slobbery St Bernard? The dog named Old Yeller that is praised after saving a little boy [...]
The Amphibian Pathogen Project took a brief pause the week of June 27 to allow the legendary Turtle Team to come tracking for box turtles in Oak Ridge. Many of you already know that I became involved with the W.E.L. through Turtle Team activities in Illinois and it has proven to be a top highlight [...]
Blanding's Turtle Research I am excited to be spending my final summer break of veterinary school hiking through forest preserves looking for turtles. As part of Dr. Allender’s Wildlife Epidemiology Lab and along with Dr. Dana Lindemann, the first-year zoo resident at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, I am completing a project [...]
