Hello everyone!

I can't even remember exactly when I was last here - this year of vet school has been manic from start to finish. Since September of last year, I've been busy working towards both my preclinical vetmed exams whilst finishing off my BSc, which included working in a lab for over 6 months between studies and writing a dissertation, so had very little time for myself, let alone time to do everyone's threads and posts justice. That is of course the way a vet course goes, but I'm glad to say that I now have a relatively quiet summer to catch up with you all. I graduated on Thursday with my BSc with first class honours, which made all the hard work thankfully worth it! I now have three more years of clinical studies left before I'm a qualified vet. Scary, I know!

As a halfway treat, my flatmate (who is also a vet student) and I decided we would undertake some veterinary volunteer work abroad. We returned on Monday from a fortnight in Zimbabwe, and had the experience of a lifetime.

We worked with AWARE Trust Zimbabwe - please do check out both their website and their facebook page. They are the most amazing charity run by two incredible vets whom I feel truly privileged to have learned from. We primarily worked in anti-poaching dehorning operations of white rhino and contraceptive implants in captive lions, but indeed ended up seeing and working with a whole plethora of African wildlife and exploring this amazing and very misunderstood country. Not many vet students can say that they started learning the clinical ropes on such magnificent creatures!

I'm sure many of you have already seen some of the obscene amount of photos on facebook! I'm also working on a comprehensive write-up of my experiences, so I won't reiterate too much of it here, but will link it when it's done.

Here's a small selection of the pictures for your enjoyment!

Firstly - some snapshots of assorted wildlife taken in National Parks and sanctuaries:

Kudu - possibly the most beautiful antelope on the planet




Vervet monkey scouting the joint, no doubt looking for some food to steal!


Trumpeter hornbill that visited us every morning in Kyle National Park


Giraffe


Sable


Cheetah... and her names was Mercedes!


More to follow...