June 2025: Points of VIEW Newsletter
- Courtney Krone
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
We’re excited for summer!
We’re excited for summer!
As the season shifts, we’re thrilled to bring you the latest updates from VIEW’s growing efforts to protect wildlife health around the world. From impactful fieldwork to public outreach, our projects continue to grow and we couldn’t do it without you. First, we want to extend our gratitude to everyone who supported us during Give Big this year. Your generosity means everything to our mission, and with your help, we raised $10,938. If you missed the campaign, it’s not too late to give, every contribution helps further our work.
Spotlight on EEHV Surveillance
This spring, VIEW veterinarian and PhD student Dr. Jennifer Yu has been working to advance research on elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) hemorrhagic disease, a deadly disease threatening young elephants in both wild and managed populations.
In May, she presented her preliminary findings from a North American EEHV surveillance project at the 2025 EEHV Workshop, hosted by the North American EEHV Advisory Group and the Oklahoma City Zoo. Her research focuses on identifying potential risk factors and improving early detection to protect vulnerable elephant calves.
Dr. Jenn Yu presents to elephant vets and veterinary staff on project protocols and sampling techniques.
Earlier, in March, Dr. Yu traveled to Asia to meet with local partners and deliver sampling supplies for a first-of-its-kind EEHV surveillance project in the region. Her visit included project orientation sessions and hands-on demonstrations to train local teams in sample collection techniques.
With fieldwork now underway, this project marks an important step in expanding EEHV research across Asia and represents a promising model for collaborative, international disease surveillance. This study was made possible with support from Morris Animal Foundation.
Stay tuned for updates as this project progresses!
An Update on Gibbons
From April 27 through May 23, one of VIEW’s regional coordinators on the gibbon health project, Dr. Melody Bomon, visited three gibbon rescue centers: Gibbon Conservation Society (Malaysia), HURO Programme (India), and Creative Conservation Alliance (Bangladesh) to support in-situ gibbon conservation. Her work focused on pre-release and annual health checks, as well as helping set up diagnostic labs to build veterinary capacity on-site. These efforts are part of our ongoing commitment to give endangered gibbons the best possible chance of a successful release into the wild.
VIEW is also continuing to host a series of interactive webinars designed to support in-situ gibbon veterinarians by connecting them with global experts, fostering knowledge-sharing, and strengthening clinical skills. This year’s topics have included pathology best practices, hepatitis B, dental care, and dermatology. Upcoming sessions will focus on parasitology and hand-raising infants and juveniles. Each webinar brings together an average of 20 gibbon vets from the 21 centers we work with in 8 gibbon range countries, with presenters available for follow-up questions and consultations.
Some of the residents at Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy
VIEW Visits Ol Jogi Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya
VIEW staff recently visited our partners at Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, and we are still in awe of the amazing animals that live there. We watched black and white rhinos grazing just steps away, and a herd of matriarch elephants moving slowly across the plain, their calves tucked between them. We also saw a lone lioness with two small cubs, cautiously approaching a new pride—and later, that same pride feasting together around a fresh kill. It was raw, wild, and unforgettable.
During our visit, we had the privilege of touring their Wildlife Rescue Center, joined game drives, observed their canine unit, and supported veterinary training at their wildlife health clinic.
Behind these powerful moments is a deeper story: expert veterinary care and a fast response when disease or injury strikes are key to wildlife survival. That’s why VIEW is launching the Center for Wildlife Health at Ol Jogi—a place where local veterinarians will be trained, research will be led, and endangered species will get the medical care and response they urgently need. This isn’t just about protecting wildlife—it’s about building a future where animals and people can thrive, together.
Celebrating Dr. Charline Rutagengwa
We’re proud of Dr. Charline Rutagengwa, who has been crushing it this year. She was recently awarded the AAZV Murray Fowler Scholarship, which will help support her attendance at the AAZV Annual Conference, one of the leading gatherings for wildlife veterinarians.
In addition, an abstract of her recent study, Advancing One Health Surveillance: A Review of Studies Using Biomonitoring to Assess Persistent Pesticides in Animals, was also accepted for poster presentation at the ISES-ISEE 2025 conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the field, Dr. Charline Rutagengwa has been leading a baseline pesticide study in Akagera National Park, Rwanda, investigating the potential impact of agricultural runoff on vulnerable species such as rhinos and elephants. This research aims to better understand how environmental toxins may be affecting the health of wildlife in the region.
This summer, Charline is currently completing an internship with the Kenya Wildlife Service, where she is gaining hands-on experience in wildlife capture and care as part of her broader training in field medicine. VIEW is honored to support her continued growth into a leader in wildlife health and conservation in Rwanda and beyond.
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