Report by Maria Jimena Valderrama, veterinarian, from our partner organization Fundación Omacha https://omacha.org/
During the annual Bottlenose dolphin Health Survey in Sarasota, Florida, organized by the Chicago Zoological Society and the Dolphin Biology Research Institute, I participated as an invited researcher and worked in or on the waters of Sarasota Bay and surrounding areas with wild dolphins.
On this occasion, I was able to deepen my knowledge in dolphin population health assessment through special clinical examinations, ultrasound, sample collection and processing, analysis of physiological processes, and additional methods for identifying and capturing small whale populations. I would like to apply all this in my work in South America with the endangered river dolphins.
The Omacha Foundation has been committed to its protection and that of aquatic ecosystems for about 30 years, but there is an urgent need to use new conservation medicine techniques to address the new challenges posed by emerging diseases and new threats that can affect this species and its ecosystems.
This space has also been a place of exchange of experience and knowledge with various institutions such as the National Foundation for Marine Mammals, where new alliances have been created for joint work in Colombia.