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Dr Cobus Raath qualified with a BVSc degree from the University of Pretoria’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty in South Africa in 1985. He spent the first 11 years of his career as the Head veterinarian for SANParks, stationed in Kruger National Park, where he developed many of the systems and management plans that are still in place today. After leaving SANParks to set up a private wildlife veterinary practice, he soon realized the necessity for the development of conservation medicines globally. Demonstrating his passion for his work and his vision for the future of conservation in South Africa and abroad, Dr Raath registered Wildlife Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd in 1997. Today, Dr Raath remains actively involved in the wildlife veterinary industry, dedicating his expertise and time to numerous research projects and sharing his knowledge and skills with veterinarians around the world by hosting wildlife immobilisation courses.
Dr Aleksandr Semjonov is a lecturer in veterinary anaesthesiology at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. He is currently Chief Clinical Officer, Chair of Clinical Veterinary Medicine and head of the University’s Animal Clinic. His research has focused on zoo and wildlife anaesthesiology and on investigating novel anaesthetic combinations in a number of species of wild animals. In 2021, he received his PhD in wildlife anaesthesiology. Dr Semjonov also works as a practicing anesthesiologist for zoo and wild animals around the world. He has been the chairman of the Veterinary Group of Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquaria since 2018 and has broad clinical and scientific experience in long-term anaesthesia of wild carnivores, giraffes and elephants. Dr Semjonov has collaborated scientifically with research institutions in Europe, South Africa, Russia, India and Japan.
After completing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2016 at the University of Pretoria, I completed a year of compulsory community service before being afforded the opportunity of working under the tutelage of Dr. Cobus Raath at Wildlifevets.com. After two and a half years, Dr. Ben Muller and I struck out on our own adventure with Wildscapes Veterinary & Conservation Services with a focus on local conservation projects and larger-scale conservation work abroad. Thus far we have managed to assist with projects in Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Iraq, and the United States. Locally we have been involved in various conservation projects, dominated by the dehorning of over 500 white and black rhino, multiple carnivore relocations, and collaring various wildlife species for research. We have been involved with the training and lecturing of 300+ students and continue to do so. We are fortunate to work with a number of brilliant conservation organizations like The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, The Endangered Wildlife Trust, African Parks, Elephants Alive, and the Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance to name a few. We look forward to expanding our boundaries and contributing wildlife veterinary expertise wherever it may be of benefit.
Dr. Silke Pfitzer is a distinguished specialist wildlife veterinarian registered with the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC). With extensive experience working both nationally and internationally, she has operated in diverse wildlife settings, including game capture, expansive conservation areas, and zoological institutions. Dr. Pfitzer previously served as a wildlife and research veterinarian with Wildlife Pharmaceuticals / Wildlifevets.com, where she specialised in enhancing immobilisation protocols for various wildlife species. Her passion for crocodiles is evident from her role as a veterinary advisor for the South African Crocodile Farmers Association and her master’s thesis on the effects of capture stress in crocodiles. Her PhD research concentrated on the use of potent opioids for immobilising antelope species. Currently, Dr. Pfitzer is a faculty member in the Department of Nature Conservation at Tshwane University of Technology. In her leisure time, she enjoys scuba diving and hiking across the globe.
Martina "Ini" studied in Vienna and, after graduation, spent 10 years establishing the Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Intensive Care Medicine at Vetmeduni Vienna. She completed her residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia through programs at the University of Bern and Vienna, becoming a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA). In 2007, Ini moved to the University of Liverpool as a Senior Lecturer, then spent 6 years as an Oberarzt at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich. In 2016, she relocated to Perth, Australia, as a lecturer and researcher in anaesthesia. Since February 2023, she has been a Professor and Head of Anaesthesia and Analgesia at Vetmeduni Vienna. Her research focuses on lung ventilation, gas exchange, and monitoring using Volumetric Capnography and Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers.
Martine van Zijll Langhout is a wildlife and zoo veterinarian, for both free-roaming and captive wildlife. After finishing an MSc in Wild Animal Health, she managed a gorilla conservation project for ZSL in Gabon and worked in a primate rescue center in Cameroon. Since 2008 she worked in South Africa, including WildlifeVet.com and Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, where she dealt with most African wildlife species. In 2013 she returned home and started her current positions at Amsterdam Zoo and the AAP Rescue Centre for Exotic Animals in the Netherlands. Martine is EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Zoo Health Management, lectures at various institutions and she has been co-promotor at Ghent University. Recently she published her first book Over Leven in het Wild about the importance of nature conservation and what wild animals teach us.
Richard retired from the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, where he was employed as a wildlife clinician and Director of the Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies, and has managed undergraduate and post-graduate wildlife training for the Faculty. He was in a private wildlife practice for 12 years prior to that, and a zoo veterinarian for 10 years. He has over 30 years of history and interest in wildlife veterinary medicine, with clinical experience in dealing with a wide variety of wild animals under clinical, translocation or quarantine conditions. He has over 25 scientific publications to his credit, and is co-editor and author of books on specialized wildlife anaesthesia and game capture, and has presented at numerous continuing education courses.
Dr Richard Harvey is a wildlife veterinarian with a background in emergency medicine and military veterinary practice. He works extensively for a number of African NGOs and Governments, managing wildlife capture and translocation projects, field surgical procedures, and logistical planning of large operations, for many species, such as rhino, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, lion and various antelopes. Dr Harvey has a special interest in large animal anaesthesia and conservation medicine and has been heavily involved in forest elephant conservation projects, with expeditionary missions over much of their range, in Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Angola, Ivory Coast and Benin. Forest elephants present a unique immobilisation challenge, being elusive and sometimes highly aggressive, living in austere environments, with challenging terrain, often in areas of political instability, and having to be tracked and darted on-foot at close range.
Dr Laurent Locquet graduated in 2015 from Ghent University, Belgium and worked in general practice in South-Africa and in Belgium, primarily with cats, dogs and wildlife, before starting a rotating internship in a busy referral centre in the UK. During his internship, Dr Locquet obtained his certificate in Veterinary Cardiology, and thereafter completed a Residency in Veterinary Cardiology at the University of Ghent. He successfully obtained his Diploma before joining a busy referral practice in the greater London area for a year before joining Dick White Referrals in 2022 as a specialist in veterinary cardiology. Dr Locquet enjoys all aspects of veterinary cardiology though he has a particular interest in procedures involving cardiopulmonary bypass, minimally invasive interventions and wildlife cardiology. He has publications on cardiovascular research in squirrel monkeys and lemurs and is involved in cardiovascular research in big felids and Great Apes.
Dr Wayne Boardman is a conservationist, academic and researcher and wildlife veterinarian and is a former zoo veterinarian having worked for many years in zoos in NZ, Australia, UK and Uganda. He is now Senior Lecturer in Wildlife and Conservation Medicine in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide and has a particular interest in free-ranging wild animal field anaesthesia and has written several papers on the anaesthesia of camels, white rhinoceroses, wallabies and koalas
Dr. Mark is a wildlife veterinarian and founder of Global Wildlife Resources. He has been assisting with wildlife captures and teaching chemical capture courses for over 30 years to zoo and wildlife students and professionals. His most exciting project was being Project Veterinarian for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 1995-96 gray wolf reintroduction program into Yellowstone National Park while hired as the first wildlife veterinarian working for the National Park Service. He is an Affiliate Faculty with the University of Montana Wildlife Biology Program and is an instructor for USDA Wildlife Services. Dr. Mark is training many state wildlife agencies with his online course, “The Foundations of Wildlife Capture”. His recent projects advising and training staff include the Gelada Monkey Project in Ethiopia, bighorn disease research in Montana, and a bear research project at the MPG Ranch in Montana. He is currently Project Veterinarian for the Colville Tribe Lynx Augmentation Program and for a Panthera cougar project in Washington state. With every course Dr. Mark emphasizes the importance of care, honor, and respect for every animal we handle and strives to empower each person he teaches.
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