Last October, the Toronto Zoo announced that panda Er Shun had given birth to twins. The excitement about the birth wasn’t just because pandas are cute — it’s because panda reproduction can be difficult. If you want to know more about why that’s so, this year’s Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) Discover Vet School event will have some answers for you.
Discover Vet School offers several evenings of interesting and entertaining lectures and labs on the U of G campus. Sessions will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. the first four Wednesdays in March.
Proceeds from the lectures go to Global Vets, an activity of the International Veterinary Medicine Club at OVC that offers student veterinarians a unique opportunity to investigate animal health care in developing countries.
Timothy Ryan is one of 19 students working with Global Vets. He’s going to Central and South America this summer, while other teams will travel to Asia, Africa and other parts of South America.
“We offer a helping hand,” he says, adding that he expects to be assisting with adoptions of stray animals and conservation efforts for wild animals.
Of the Discover Vet School experience, Ryan says, “The sessions really give participants a taste of what it’s like to be an OVC student. This year participants get a hands-on experience every night in addition to lectures.”
Other topics will include:
- Exotic animal anatomy
- Small animal diseases
- Parasites
- Clinical diagnosis
- Laparoscopy
- Bandaging
- Pregnancy in horses
- The physiology of ruminants
Lectures and labs will be conducted by OVC faculty and students, and will include opportunities to ask questions. Tours of the OVC facilities are also available.
To register, email discovervetschool@gmail.com. The cost is $125 for those who register by Feb. 7, 2016 and $150 after that date.