South Africa Zoo Medicine

The Lory Park staff and loop staff we incredible and so enjoyable to work with during this trip. We got to work closely with the keepers and animals while focusing on the animal husbandry. There was not as much hands on vet work as I anticipated but there was still plenty to learn and do. Some highlights including getting to go outside of the zoo and getting to educate some of the local school children about the animals and the weekend safari. Overall it was a great experience that I would recommend to others!

While you learn a lot and get to work with veterinarians on the trip the experience was much more then that. We got to learn about the culture with an informative culture night. Along with this we got to go out to one of the elementary schools to meet kids and teach them about reptiles. We also went on a safari over the weekend which was way cooler then I could have ever expected. Overall you get to learn so much on this trip and experience so many new things. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Everything was perfect. Staff at both the zoo and Loop Abroad were so helpful throughout the entire process and trip. We unfortunately got sick while we were over there but everyone was SO helpful and tried their very best to make us comfortable and feel better about the situation. The staff at Lory Park worked extremely hard to make us feel involved during isolation and helped us see our projects finished and did everything to make us feel better about missing a few things due to sickness. 10/10 recommend and will travel with them again!

I have never been abroad before in my whole life and I couldn't imagine a more fitting location for me to travel to for my first time than South Africa. I wanted my experience to be in a place that no one I knew has been to so I could have no expectations whatsoever. I was nervous, but South Africa completely blew me away the min I walked into the Zoo where I would be residing. The staff of Lory Park and Loop Abroad were more than welcoming, they treated us like family and it felt like being welcomed into a second home. the sounds of the gibbons, cockatoos, and lions fully immersed me into the South African experience. The Safari Park alone made the entire trip an experience I would never forget. I am so humbled to have had this opportunity.

I really recommend this trip for anyone that is studying in the animal health field. My trip to South Africa was life changing and its an experience that helped me gain knowledge in vet medicine and in life in general. I went to Johannesburg and stayed at Lory Park Zoo for two weeks and learned a lot about zoo medicine. We were able to work with 5 main groups of animals which were primates, birds of prey, reptiles, cubes and big cats. This gave us the chance to learn about these types of animals. Some of the stuff we learned about was their health concerns, feeding, behavior, and environmental needs. Everyday was different and we were able to do some hands-on activities with the animals. This trip taught me and showed me a lot of stuff and I am thankful I went. We got the chance to go on a safari as well and it was amazing seeing the animals in their natural habitat. I overall recommend this trip.

This trip was amazing in so many ways! We got to stay at the Lory Park Animal and Owl Sanctuary in Midrand, South Africa. The house we stayed in had bunk beds and was very clean and nicely kept. Every morning we got to be on a different section, including big cats, small cats, cubs, primates, reptiles, and birds of prey, helping the keepers with exhibit maintenance, enrichment and training. This was such an incredible experience to learn how to care for all of these amazing creatures, as well as learning how to increase their welfare in captivity. We also had two vet days where we got to see their zoo vet perform a variety of procedures and routine vaccinations. Lastly, we got to go on an incredible safari for the weekend where we got to see a huge variety of animals in their natural habitat, including elephants, leopard, lions, and giraffes!

This was such a cool experience to be able to get more hands-on experience working with exotic animals! We stayed at the Lory Park Zoo and lived on the grounds majority of the week, except for on the Safari weekend. We got to work with the keepers at the zoo every day going through the different areas of the zoo, prepping food, cleaning, training, and more. My favorite part of the trip was getting to work with the vets doing treatments on the animals, learning about the treatments, and getting to be so hands on with them; we got to work all kinds of birds, primates, reptiles, and more. This experience is something that you would never be able to find in the States, and I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about zoo med and conservation.

I knew I was going to be learning exciting new things but I didn't know how out of this world this trip was going to be. Everyday was jam packed and everyone was exhausted from all the information and hands on experiance we were getting. I especially became close to a Gibbon named Joshua. I learned so much about animals I didn't even know existed. The staff made sure we were getting our questions answered and doing things out of our comfort zone so we knew we were getting the most out of our trip. There were times when we all got serious talking about animal issues that nearly brought me to tears and made me realize conservation might be the path I take in life. I hadn't even considered it before this trip. This experince has truly changed my life and for that I am extremely grateful.