Celebrating 10 Years of Dr. Jennings’ Service to the Sanctuary!

Veterinary Appreciation Day is June 18. This day marks an opportunity to highlight the lifesaving work of Dr. Katie Jennings – the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary’s Staff Veterinarian.

Earlier this year, Dr. Jennings shared some thoughts on her time at the sanctuary through an interview. Read more below.

How did you get into primate medicine? Was it always your goal to work with monkeys?

Initially, through vet school, I was kind of freaked out by monkeys – I was scared of them! But, as time went on, I just realized I enjoyed nontraditional medicine, working with nontraditional species. I loved figuring out how to extrapolate everything that I learned from dogs and cats to apply it to other species in the most effective way I can. Then, after vet school, I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I was exploring a number of options and, to fill the gap, I did some work with a wildlife rescue facility as the vet there.

At the end of my time there, the Director of that facility told me about an opening at the Born Free Primate Sanctuary. Honestly, I thought I would be here for a few years to get some experience under my belt. I thought it would be fun. But then the monkeys stole my heart and it was, like, “nope, you’re staying!” And that was ten years ago!

What do you see as your biggest achievements? What are you most proud of?

My biggest achievement has been creating a veterinary program from the ground up and tweaking it into something that’s not just functional but also does a good job. And, as time went on, changing around the way that we approach the monkeys’ healthcare and welfare so that they are truly living the best possible lives. That they are as healthy as possible for as long as possible. I am proud that we put such a strong emphasis on quality of life throughout all that.

What are your favorite parts of your role?

Figuring out how apply treatments and diagnostics and just vary medicine in general to all of the individuals who live here, across all of the various habitats they live in. Our sanctuary houses monkeys in spaces that meet their specific health and welfare needs. So, some will live in large open-top enclosures with dozens of others. Some, often the monkeys who have had traumatic backgrounds and don’t cope in large groups, might live in more controlled spaces with one or two other monkeys. And delivering healthcare for those animals will differ, not just depending on their health issues, but on these living situations.

What would be convenient for the staff when a monkey is sick would be to bring them in, put them in a small cage, and treat them until they are better. But we don’t work like that. Being confined to a small space, even for a short time, can have a huge impact on the monkey’s welfare and their mental health, in particular. So, we don’t do what is most convenient for us, we do what works best for the monkeys in terms of physical, mental, and emotional health. This means finding novel ways, for example, to get medication to a monkey who is living in a large group, seeking oral medications that will work just as effectively as invasive injectables, having our team trained to become experts in monitoring monkey health so that any sign of an issue is noticed as soon as possible, thus preventing the need for more extensive treatment at a later date. It is exciting to figure out new ways to do things that benefit the monkeys.

Do you have any favorite monkeys?

My favorite monkey is Amanzi, she is a Japanese macaque who lives in our large troop in a five-acre enclosure. She is smart, she is sassy, and she is silly. I love her! But aside from her, I have most bonding time with the monkeys who get sick. That can sometimes be very sad because oftentimes, I’ll get to know them the best as they’re hitting end of life care or are really struggling through major health issues. But, at the same time, knowing that I’ve been there for them in their most difficult times is really rewarding. Even for those who pass away, I know that I’ve done everything I can to make that as comfortable as possible and keep them healthy for as long as possible. It really helps.

What have been your most memorable moments at Born Free?

There are so many but the ones that really stay with me are those times when the whole team has pulled together in an emergency. An example is when a very elderly baboon, Picassa, went down in her large open top enclosure due to medical issues. Now, if we were dealing with a domesticated animal, we could just go in there and bring her out to the clinic. When you are dealing with wild animals – and two of our largest baboons were living in that space with her – you cannot safely go in without moving the other animals out. And that means convincing them to move to a safe area away from their friend who they might not want to leave because they understand something is wrong.

So, on this day, we had to act fast and the only way we could do that was working as a team. Some staff worked on encouraging the two big males in the enclosure to move into a separate space. During this time, other team members were getting fans and water misters set up and drip feeding Picassa fluids through the fence while we were waiting for the all clear to go in. As soon as we were able, team members went into the enclosure to safely bring her out. She was moved to a safe, cool recovery space. By the time we got her out, she was starting to have seizures. The only reason she survived that day was because our staff were checking on her regularly throughout the day (as we do with all the monkeys), that the emergency was called as soon as it happened, that everyone knew exactly what to do and worked together with such efficiency. After two hours of close care, Picassa was standing up in her recovery crate, looking around as if to say “hey, why am I in here?! Why are you all staring at me?!”

Over the decade I have worked here, new staff have joined, and old staff have moved on but what remains consistent is the level of care that’s provided here, the teamwork, and the dedication that our staff demonstrate. It makes me proud.

You are, undoubtedly, one of the foremost primate sanctuary veterinarians in the country. What advice would you give to someone trying to get into this field of work?

Know that it is difficult, that it is challenging. Anyone in the non-profit veterinary field will not earn as much as those veterinarians working in private practice, so you won’t be living in a mansion! But, man! Is it rewarding?! Absolutely. It’s worth it.

If you weren’t a veterinarian, what do you think you would be doing?

Oh, I would have built a small business around foraging for food! Or I’d be selling cakes out of my kitchen, or something weird like that!

(Note from Sanctuary Director, Liz, who has worked with Dr. J for seven years: Dr. J is an expert on local plants and wildlife and is a true expert in foraging, sustainability, and general low-impact living. Her knowledge about these issues is fascinating. So, she may say it is a weird idea, but it makes complete sense! I am just glad she chose to become a vet instead as we don’t know what we would do without her!)

Dr. Jennings’ work has made such a difference to the lives of our monkey residents. Please join us in congratulating her on 10 remarkable years at the sanctuary!

Learn more about the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary and the hundreds of resident rescued monkeys here.