Conservation Medicine
Conservation of endangered and threatened species and their habitats is a concern for all EMC faculty and students. The programs dealing with these species face special political and logistical challenges and require an extra measure of dedication.
Examples of programs where EMC faculty, students and alumni are making major contributions to conservation medicine include many efforts with small felids, particularly the Pallas’ cat of Northern Asia. Mountain gorilla conservation efforts in Rwanda and Uganda have also benefited significantly from EMC help as have projects working with elephants in Africa and Asia.
Closer to home, the EMC has helped re-establish wild river otters in the mountains of NC and West Virginia and the recovery of the red wolf in northeastern North Carolina. EMC conservation medicine efforts range from helping these very charismatic large species to important work helping less charismatic species such as endangered freshwater mussels, and small fishes of NC rivers and estuaries.