Zoo Atlanta

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is causing significant mortality in captive apes, often killing members of these endangered species in the prime of their reproductive lives. Zoo Atlanta's funded project is a direct result of a 2010 IMLS National Leadership Planning Grant and will create an innovative and coordinated national program to investigate ape CVD and establish uniform, state-of-the-art strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Through the creation of a comprehensive, consensus-based database, the project partners will develop a cross-institutional mechanism to better understand important diseases of zoo-housed animals to assure their continued survival in living collections. Partners for this project are the Emerging Diseases Research Group of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.