Gretchen E. Kaufman

Gretchen E. Kaufman

Pullman, WA

Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife ; Washington State University ; Tufts University

Associate Director, Adjunct Faculty

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Published on May 08, 2017

First batch of tiger serum samples arrive at Cornell

This weekend Dr. Deborah McCauley personally delivered Bengal tiger serum samples from Nepal to Cornell University in New York for analysis.  We are very grateful to Dr. Gairhe, our partners at NTN...

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Published on Mar 10, 2017

Preparing tiger samples for analysis

Dr. Kaufman is now in Chitwan, working with Dr. Amir Sadaula at the National Trust of Nature Conservation's Biodiversity Conservation Center lab where most of VIEW's work is ongoing.  We have ident...

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Published on Sep 08, 2016

How to get a blood sample from a wild tiger

We rarely get the opportunity to get biological samples, like blood,  from a wild tiger. Consequently, we are trying to make it routine to collect samples whenever a sedated tiger is available for ...

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Published on Aug 30, 2016

Weak and debilitated tiger

This image was caught on camera trap and shows a very weak and emaciated tiger resting in the grass.  Disorientation, loss of fear of humans, hind limb weakness and emaciation may i...

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Great Project! Best of luck.
Jan 09, 2020
Investigating the epidemiology of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus in Myanmar
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Wow! And I thought the ticks were bad on Cape Cod.
Jun 21, 2019
What risks do ticks confer to the humans and animals of Guam?
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For those of you that don't know what CITES is. This is a treaty between countries designed to regulate trade in endangered species - the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species. To legally move samples of an endangered species covered by the CITES treaty, permission must be granted by both the exporting and importing country authorities. This is a complicated process designed to restrict trade and exploitation. See more at https://www.cites.org/
Mar 17, 2017
Are endangered tigers in Nepal threatened by diseases from dogs and cats?
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Tiger samples are covered by CITES. We will only be bringing samples to Cornell under a CITES permit obtained both from the US and from Nepal authorities.
Mar 17, 2017
Are endangered tigers in Nepal threatened by diseases from dogs and cats?
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Canine distemper virus is shed in secretions of an infected animal including respiratory secretions, saliva, urine and feces. It does not last long outside of the body in the environment, so transmission usually requires close contact between animals. This could happen between two kittens in a litter, for examples, or could happen between predator, e.g. an adult tiger, and it's prey, e.g. a dog or an infected wild animal.
Sep 28, 2016
Are endangered tigers in Nepal threatened by diseases from dogs and cats?
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Well in some ways it's the same as getting a blood sample from a domestic cat: a needle in the vein. It's just that getting access to that vein is a tremendous challenge, especially in an animal free in the wild. Just think about the cost and number of people and skills required to get this done!
Sep 28, 2016
Are endangered tigers in Nepal threatened by diseases from dogs and cats?
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Cindy, Canine distemper virus is found EVERYWHERE that dogs are found, all over the world. For any of you that have dogs as pets, this virus is one that is included in your routine vaccinations. It is related to measles virus in humans and is an equally devastating and serious disease for dogs and other carnivores worldwide.
Sep 28, 2016
Are endangered tigers in Nepal threatened by diseases from dogs and cats?
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