News and Stories

We have four vet techs here at the Cincinnati Zoo, Jenny, Amy, Janell and Joy. All of our vet techs are licensed technicians of veterinary medicine meaning they have formal training and certification in nursing of animals. In addition, they all have additional training and experience in caring for zoo species, including mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. Our technician staff have a combined 71 years of experience in zoo medicine!

Vet techs are an important part of the veterinary team, setting up for veterinary procedures and anesthesia and cleaning up after they are finished. Vet techs often collect blood samples, monitor anesthesia, take radiographs (x-rays) during anesthesia. They process blood and biological samples for testing, shipping to specialized labs, banking samples for research or future medical needs. Our techs manage our parasite monitoring program, including analyzing and identifying parasites in the fecals of animals all across the zoo. They fill prescriptions and help with medical treatments and so much more.

In addition to traditional healthcare, our vet techs train with animals all across the zoo. The animals are trained for different behaviors that help make healthcare easier, like voluntary blood draws, mouth or skin exams, injections and health monitoring like blood pressure. This takes time and a special bond, but with the help of animal care staff, the animals trust the vet techs to poke them with a needle or place a blood pressure cuff, allowing us to get samples without any stress.

Our veterinary team could not function without the hard work and dedication of our vet techs. They are not often the faces at the front of the procedures, but they are always working hard behind the scenes to keep the animals happy and healthy!