Whale researchers dropped a mic into the seas off southeast Alaska and recorded a humpback making a “whup”-like noise, translated roughly as a humpback hello. The next day, they lowered a speaker into the water and played the recorded “whup” back as a pod of whales passed by. One whale, a middle-aged female named Twain, responded in kind. For 20 minutes, Twain and the scientists “whupped” back and forth, 36 times in a row. Researchers even varied the timing of their calls and Twain matched their tempo.
Veterinarians play a critical role in the health and well-being of our pets. To help support the next generation of veterinarians and in honor of International Day of Veterinary Medicine, Purina has announced its donation of $4.5 million to three top veterinary schools in the U.S. to drive innovation and excellence in pet health and veterinary education over the next five years and beyond.
Adapted from an article by the Wildlife Conservation Society
Dr. Pranav Pandit, a veterinary epidemiologist with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, helped launch a new Pandemic Prevention Leadership Initiative earlier this year. The program—a collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and EpiEcos—was funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation.
An assessment completed this week at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine determined that pneumonia caused the Oct. 23 death of Nox, the youngest member of UC Berkeley’s well-known falcon family.
Tuna Sandwich, an approximately 6-week-old female kitten, was brought to the FieldHaven Feline Center by a Good Samaritan after being found abandoned near a Subway restaurant (hence the name). FieldHaven has been a great community partner to UC Davis for more than a decade, presenting many primary care and specialty service patients, as well as clinical trials participants.
When Sarah Lindley found a lump near her dog Bucky’s tooth, she didn’t think it was a problem. The lively husky mix, which she and her partner, Tom Yuzvinsky, consider part of the family, didn’t appear to be in pain. Still, she scheduled an appointment with her local veterinarian on the Central Coast.
“At first we thought something was stuck in his gums and he might lose a tooth,” Lindley said. “Then the biopsy came back as cancerous.”
The Dean’s Staff Awards were presented in a joint ceremony with the Faculty Award recipients on November 14. Instituted through the SVM People First strategic initiative, this inaugural award is the first SVM set to shine a light specifically on staff.
Faculty members were honored at the inaugural Stars of SVM Staff and Faculty Award Reception on Thursday, November 14, 2024. Each of the recipients exemplify excellence in supporting the mission of the school.
The sounds of barking elephant seals are again in the air along the breeding grounds of Península Valdés, Argentina—but it’s quieter. Roughly a year after a massive outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza killed more than 17,000 elephant seals, including about 97% of their pups, scientists estimate that only about a third of the elephant seals normally expected here returned.
As highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) continues to spread throughout the world, including on California dairy farms recently, experts on the subject from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have taken great strides to educate the public and industry partners on the subject.
The school had an incredible time hosting nearly 300 alumni and friends the last weekend in October to celebrate milestone reunions, outstanding achievements, and so much more. Classmates enjoyed reconnecting, hearing stories and memories and learning about all the new and exciting things happening at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
Researchers at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine marked a milestone in equine assisted reproductive technologies with the first successful use of frozen-thawed sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF) production of equine embryos. These promising results, just published in Theriogenology, have the potential for broader clinical applications, as well as valuable opportunities to study fertilization and embryo development.
