We spent the morning traveling from Brisbane to Townsville. As soon as we arrived, we made our way to the JCU campus and were greeted by five, 20 minute lectures on a variety of topics. A presentation that I found especially intriguing was Karina Jones’ research on benign tumor growth in green sea turtles. Despite being benign, these growths can greatly inhibit the lives of these animals. This PhD student is working to find out what causes these tumors and what sort of threat they pose to our sea turtle populations.
As an avid birder, Dr. Ingrid Danylyk’s lecture on avian veterinary medicine peaked my interest as well. She receives patients both from the wild and from pet owners. She emphasized how birds are given the same level of treatment as a cat or dog. Being in Australia, she also has the opportunity to work with a wide variety of species, including parrots, cockatoos, curlews, and kookaburras.
After the lecture session, we were given a tour of the campus facilities. We got a look at their sea turtle facility, where they are currently caring for 35 baby sea turtles. They obtained these turtles just after they left the nest because, unfortunately, they emerged at the wrong time. Instead of coming out under the cover of night, they did so in the afternoon while the beach was ripe with predators. These turtles are kept for research, and require many volunteers to keep them happy and healthy. As cute as these little guys were, because they were research animals, we couldn’t take any photos.
The rest of our tour brought many more animals and state-of-the-art facilities (which you can read more about in the day 3 post of my peer, Madison). Even the wildlife that hangs out around campus was unbelievable, including goanas, snakes, wallabies, and an abundance of birds.
Our adventure isn’t even close to over, so keep checking in for more updates!
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