Dr. Javier G. Nevarez spends his days studying captive alligators that have contracted West Nile virus—as well as rehabilitating migratory birds that have collided with windows and examining black bears that died by gunshot.
These are only some of his duties as director of the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, the state's hub for veterinarian involvement in the preservation of native wildlife. And the alligator is just one of the state's—and country's—conservation success stories.
As part of the Louisiana alligator management program, LSU veterinarians serve as consultants for farmers who raise the animals for skin and meat. Farmers obtain eggs from the wild, partly because of difficulties with breeding alligators in captivity, and raise the hatchlings for a couple of years in indoor facilities before releasing a percentage of the animals back into the wetlands.
"The industry itself has been key in using the alligators as a renewable resource," Dr. Nevarez said.
Currently, Dr. Nevarez is conducting a health surveillance study of captive alligators to ensure that they are not introducing diseases into the wetlands. Previously, he had diagnosed the first cases of West Nile disease in alligators in Louisiana and discovered dermatitis in association with the disease.
The virus appears primarily to affect alligators in captivity, though. One factor may be that captive alligators have a higher body temperature, more similar to mammals, because farmers heat housing facilities to stimulate growth. Recently, farmers have increased mosquito control to prevent the insects from spreading the disease indoors.
Dr. Javier G. Nevarez of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and personnel from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries collect samples at an alligator farm. The veterinary school conducts farm visits as a routine service for the state's alligator industry. (Courtesy of Dr. Javier G. Nevarez)Veterinarians from LSU also work with wild alligators. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries brings alligators with severe injuries to the wildlife hospital for assessment and often euthanasia.
Noel W. Kinler, Louisiana's alligator program manager, said the state's wild alligator population bottomed out in the mid-1900s. In 1962, the wildlife department closed the hunting season and began a research program.
In 1972, the Louisiana wildlife department initiated the current alligator management program—which regulates the alligator farming industry along with a fall hunting season and a process for handling nuisance animals. Kinler said the state is now home to about 1.5 million alligators.
"It's a big task to manage the program, when you talk about harvesting 250,000 farm gators and 35,000 wild gators each year," Kinler said. "We do take a great deal of pride in the successes that we've had here in terms of harvesting from these populations while maintaining and growing the gator population."
While alligators may be Louisiana's most prominent wild animals, the state also is home to many other species. The wildlife hospital rehabilitates a variety of birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Avian patients include songbirds, hawks, owls, and eagles. Among the reptiles is the gopher tortoise, a threatened species.
"One thing people don't realize is that a lot of animals come to us because of some sort of human interaction," Dr. Nevarez said.
People accidentally hit animals with their cars, for example. Other people intentionally shoot raptors, which are federally protected, and Louisiana black bears, which are a threatened subspecies. Veterinarians at LSU gathers forensic evidence to try to prosecute people who kill bears.
In addition to treating individual animals, the wildlife hospital offers presentations about the importance of preservation.
Dr. Nevarez is speaking this afternoon about the Louisiana alligator industry, West Nile virus in alligators, making the most of available resources in wildlife medicine, and practical tips for wildlife rehabilitation.
