So An Aardvark Walks Into A Doctor's Office...
By JoshMogerman in Miscellaneous on Apr 4, 2010 9:00PM
When was an aardvark this high profile?
Jessi, one of Brookfield Zoo’s aardvarks, was all over the airwaves this week as the zoo showed off the CT scanner that had recently been donated by nearby Loyola Hospital. The scanner was being used to examine Jessi’s teeth---not an easy task without the aid of technology, as aardvark jaws open less than an inch.
But Jessi is hardly the first zoo resident to benefit from human medical tools in their care. Brookfield Zoo has a long history of using unusual technologies and specialists on behalf of their animal collection. As the Trib points out, dolphins and gorillas have taken the short drive up First Avenue to Loyola for CT scans in the past. But human doctors have gotten far more up-close-and-personal with the zoo’s critters:
- In 1994, Chickory Gorilla was the first non-human primate to have invasive brain surgery when a tumor threatened his life.
- Beta Gorilla probably would have preferred fewer doctor visits, as she went where no gorilla had gone before medically three times: being the first to be artificially inseminated, the only gorilla who ever received a hip replacement, and an innovative treatment for fibroid tumors.
- Jewel Camel ran for the first time in years after vets brought in an acupuncturist for her arthritis.
- A dentist was brought in to give one of the zoo’s lions a root canal. Human dentist visits are not unusual for many of the zoos apes.
- Ultrasounds are pretty commonplace at the zoo, especially when an animal that is used to human interaction---like dolphins---gets pregnant.
All this without universal health care! Brookfield Zoo is only the second in the country to own a CT scanner and claims that their new imaging suite is the most comprehensive in North America. Besides Jessi, the Zoo has used the new equipment on an array of other critters including a Mexican grey wolf, ferret, and another aardvark.