Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Travels to Papua New Guinea
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (March 26, 2024) — MinXray, a leading manufacturer of imaging systems for veterinary and medical use, recently sent its Impact Wireless X-ray system with a group of researchers and medical personnel to the YUS Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea. During this time, they spent 10 days at a high-elevation research camp to image, study and help conserve the Matschie’s tree kangaroo population, an endangered species endemic to the country.
This trip was sponsored by the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, a partnership between Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo and the local governments and remote populations in Papua New Guinea.
The goal of the research was to work towards establishing a baseline for this little-understood species. To achieve this, eight tree kangaroos were humanely captured by local tracking specialists and studied by the international team of researchers, including American, Australian and Papua New Guinean experts as well as young Papua New Guinean scientists in training. The animals were then microchipped, GPS-collared and returned to the same spot from which they were captured. The examination included measuring the size and shape of the tree kangaroos’ bodies, inspecting pouches on females, analyzing acquired blood samples and taking radiographic images of the animals with the MinXray’s Impact Wireless system.
Rob Liddell, MD, a diagnostic radiologist, was tasked with using the MinXray units to capture and analyze radiographic images of the animals. For most other imaging equipment, this task would have been impossible due to the limited space and lack of electricity at the base camp. However, the Impact Wireless system fit in an easily transportable case and could be recharged using the base’s solar panels.
“The Impact Wireless system performed perfectly, even with the high elevation and humidity,” said Dr. Liddell. “Not only were we able to build on our understanding of normal anatomy, but we were also able to document the differences in condition between Matschie’s tree kangaroos in human care and in the wild.”
Specifically, Dr. Liddell noticed a prevalence of healed fractures in ribs and tails, likely a result of the animals leaping up to 100 ft. from trees to the ground to avoid danger. He also looked for mycobacterial infection (MAC), a kind of tuberculosis seen in tree kangaroos in zoos, but it was not diagnosed in any of the wild tree kangaroos.
After his time in the research camp, Dr. Liddell traveled with several of his team members to a local village to provide healthcare services and health education as part of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program’s One Health practice of holistic conservation. They were met by other specialists including a Papua New Guinean nutritionist and health education trainers as well as a physical therapist, emergency room doctor, OB-GYN and Dr. Liddell’s wife, Marti Liddell, MD, an internist. Over 400 people came over the 10 days the team was in the village for the health education seminars, and the healthcare professionals were able to see approximately 200 as patients.
Dr. Liddell used the MinXray equipment again, this time to screen for common diseases in the region, such as tuberculosis and emphysema, while also diagnosing cancers, infections and various musculoskeletal injuries.
This is the fifth trip to the region that the medical group has taken since the conservation program’s founding 25 years ago and second trip to the tree kangaroo research base camp. Going forward, the group hopes to continue researching the Matschie’s tree kangaroos and providing health services to local people with trips every other year.
For more information on the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, visit its website: www.zoo.org/tkcp.
To learn more about the diagnostic imaging equipment used during the trip, visit www.minxray.com, or contact MinXray at 800-221-2245 or at info@minxray.com.
Komentáře