Radcliffe and Jessup, Wildlife Disease

Most existing and emerging infectious diseases have their origin in animal populations. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the need to understand the cause and impacts of wildlife diseases, as well as how to manage them, has only become increasingly salient.

In a November 2024 Chats in the Stacks book talk at Mann Library, Robin Radcliffe, associate professor of practice in Wildlife and Conservation Medicine in the Veterinary School, and David Jessup, former senior wildlife veterinarian of the California Department of Fish and Game and former executive manager of the Wildlife Disease Association, present a discussion of their co-edited volume Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023). The book combines theory and practice, offering cutting-edge scientific information to aid in planning for, responding to, and conducting research on these serious challenges to both human and wildlife health, and to conservation efforts around the world.

Speaker bios:

With more than 20 years of professional experience with species conservation, Dr. Robin Radcliffe directs the Cornell Conservation Medicine Program, a collaborative initiative here at Cornell University focused on providing innovative health-based solutions to address real-world conservation problems in endangered species populations and landscapes around the world. Dr. Radcliffe’s own research investigates issues of wildlife health and conservation in connection with numerous different species, including rhinoceros populations in both Indonesia and Africa, honeybees in New York State, and Gyrfalcons in Alaska. His interests also extend beyond veterinary medicine to include the people with whom animal species co-exist, who have key roles to play in helping to achieve long-term conservation solutions. He has collaborated with Dr. Jane Goodall to help train the next generation of local conservation scientists working to save the great apes and rhinos as icons of the rainforest in Africa and Asia. Together with Jane, he has authored a children’s book about Indonesian rhinos and he has developed unique conservation-oriented educational programs for children on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Wildlife veterinarian and researcher Dr. David Jessup was the first veterinarian to serve the California Department of Fish and Game, where he began work in 1977 with a focus health and disease diagnosis and management for a variety of terrestrial species including elk and bighorn sheep. His career at the CDFG also brought him to a focus on the health of marine animals at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he established a state-of-the-art marine research and response center to address sea otter health and the care of wildlife impacted by oil and other pollutants. At the University of California at Davis, Dr. Jessup helped establish the U.C. Davis Wildlife Health Program and has mentored resident veterinarians at the UCD Wildlife Health Center. David’s international work has spanned India, Mexico, Zimbabwe and South Africa. From 2010 until 2020 he was Executive Manager of the Wildlife Disease Association, an international scientific organization that is dedicated to studying and understanding of wild animal health and publishes the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, the premier peer-reviewed publication for global wildlife health issues.