Exotic Vetting

by Romain Pizzi

Anaesthetising a fish, x-raying a frog and hospitalising a walrus are all in a day’s work for the world’s wildest veterinarian.
Travelling from the rainforests of Sierra Leone to the jungles of Borneo, Romain Pizzi has caught, anaesthetised, diagnosed, operated on, medicated, and then released some of the world's most endangered wild animals.

From disease testing Polynesian snails to keyhole surgery in Sumatran orangutans; from endoscopy in sharks to ultrasound on a chimpanzee. Sometimes this is high tech work, such as the first robotic surgery in a tiger, or giant panda cloning attempts. Sometimes the situations are more primitive, from anaesthetising a bear with a bicycle pump, old plumbing tubes and a plank, to operating on a vulture using an old metal spoon.

In Exotic Vetting, Romain recalls his many interesting patients, while taking readers on a tour of the challenges of treating the world’s amazing spectrum of wild animal species.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Wildlife, Biology, Nature, Medicine

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2022

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book full of quirky details. Romain Pizzi takes us through all the stages of a wildlife vet’s work from anaesthesia and blood tests to operations and rehabilitation, and ends with a heartfelt plea for more awareness of environmental issues and engagement with their consequences.

At first I found this book slightly overwhelming from the sheer volume of examples Pizzi includes, jumping about from apes to fleas and birds to fish. However, I soon settled into this style and began to enjoy the richness and variety of the ‘exotic vetting’ world. I would have liked more examples from his own practice, as these really helped to understand and appreciate the challenges a vet faces, but there was plenty to learn and enjoy anyway.

Unusual, informative and fun - I feel I have gained more knowledge about wildlife and the work of the wildlife vet, and in a very entertaining way.

[Danica Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and would recommend for anyone interested in or in the field of wildlife rehabilitation. The book includes detailed insights of what the day to day life looks like as a wildlife vet, with many case studies scattered throughout and doesn’t pan over the complexities of rehabilitation work in wildlife.

[GM · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing. another stark reminder of how big the world really is and how insignificant you are. Very thorough and talks about everything from the difficulties of darting animals to how dangerous and unnecessary surgeries can be to how varied all the animal species are to what is conservation really.

I didn't know everything from a scientific / animal perspective but some notes I highlighted:

1. The most extensive African wildlife capture period was actually under Ancient Rome. Humans had already been catching wild animals for thousands of years...During Augustus's reign alone, over 3,500 elephants were killed in games. (Reigned for 41 years)

2. Could use Calvin Klein's Obsession For Men fragrance to trap leopards, tigers, and jaguars. CK discontinued it a few years ago but luckily vets still have plenty of stock.

3. Blood was an egg substitute for German cake baking in WWII, Allies used it in aircraft glues, still being used today to make Japanese surimi fish sticks. Romans - added it to concrete mix to make structures from amphitheatres to aqueducts. Roman concrete structures are fabulously durable, partly because including animal blood formed small bubbles, making the concrete lighter and stronger (due to air).

4. On the difficulties of X-raying animals - In a series of gruesome experiments, Pierre Barbet showed that, unlike in classical crucifixion paintings, only the wrist was strong enough to hold human corpses nailed to a wooden cross

5. Sloths' body temp can vary by as much as 10 degrees celsius and their slow metabolism and low body temp is why they digest food so slowly

6. For manatees, which usually eat sea grass, eating lettuce is the equivalent of having a double-cheeseburger

7. Most animals become fat in captivity. With black bears, you are still always stuck with chubby bears even with trees to climb. "If you keep your bears lean, they become mean, and will invariably eat each other"

8. On the Tower of London zoo - Six hundred years earlier (1200s), the tower's animal keepers solved their problem feeding a polar bear gifted from the King of Norway, by letting him cash fish in the Thames while tethered by a long chain to the shore

9. Difficulties on breeding cheetahs due to 1) lack of genetic variation - for all cheetahs, their genomes are almost 99% the same vs 80% for humans; 2) weak sperm with low volume and deformed sperm

10. The wildlife safari experience is manipulated as some tours put trackers in the animals (as collars are too unsightly). An older lion may have six or seven cigarette box-sized transmitters rattling around unseen inside its belly.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! As an animal lover, I learned so much fascinating details into the work of a wildlife vet, especially if the immensely diverse anatomy, behaviour and characteristics of the various animals who share the earth with us. While I didn’t think that all animals would be treated in the same way as our dogs and cats, I just didn’t think about how they are so different before I read this book.

The author also wrote with a lot of honesty about issues like conservation, ethics, animal welfare, a view of the entire ecosystem including so called pests. He gave many sad examples of human induced animal suffering and death, which was heartbreaking. Some of these were caused by so called well meaning intentions like conservation. It opened my eyes to the complexity of the fields, how tradeoffs are always invisible to the public eye.

Most interesting of all, the book gave me insight into so many wild animal species I’ve never ever heard of. I’m amazed at the diversity of our planet and the creativity behind it. Thanks Romain Pizzi for this fine read!

[Sarah Ang · Rating 4 out of 5]

gives a really good insight to what it really means to work with wildlife in different continents, with and without the glamour of it all. pizzi poses a good question of “why?” do we strive for conservation, what is the point. pizzi also makes similar points to other vet books about what desperately needs to be done for the environment and its inhabitants. you really get a sense of his immense well of knowledge, from all the numerous facts about so many species, it’s really impressive

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been desperate to find a book like this for ages, mostly because so few exist. But the honest, transparent, brutal, and inspiring book provided a superb wildlife and conservation veterinary. This is a book I'll return to again and again, as well as absorb Pizzi's sobering philosophies and ideations. Amazing book.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this book contains one of the most impressive and powerful statements I have ever come across. "While we only get to vote for politicians once every few years, we all get to vote three times every day on the impact we wish to have on the planet, in choosing what we put in our mouths."

Well done, Dr. Pizzi!!!

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good insight into veterinary care for exotic animals, with some cool facts in it, but it's written in a very stream of consciousness style that makes it difficult to read. It jumps from topic to topic and animal to animal without much connection.

[Lydia Tindale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly amazing. As well of being absolutely full of facts it's confirmed to me that wildlife veterinary is the career I want to persue

[justonemorechapter · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok

[Poppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly brilliant, fascinating, and inspiring. My best read of 2022.

[Imogen Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3