Tales of an African Vet by Dr. Roy Aronson

Tales of an African Vet

by Dr. Roy Aronson

Did you know that fish can get the bends? Neither did I!

Tales of an African Vet is not your regular, James Herriot-style animal book. Dr. Aronson does indeed have a small animal practice in South Africa, but this book is based on his adventures in the wild.

You'll meet Jabu, a baby elephant rescued from a mud flat in the Klasseri Reserve on the western border of Kruger National Park.

Then there is Munwane, an injured baby rhino saved by a park ranger from a pack of hyenas.

And a lioness named Mehlwane, meaning “the one with the eye” who required surgery to repair a genetic defect that rolled her eyelid inward, making the lashes irritate the eye.

These stories don't take place at the office; these are surgeries performed in the middle of the bush in South Africa. First you have to track your patient, then immobilize them with a tranquilizer dart. You then set up your sterile “field” and do the work you need to do, and then you monitor your patient until they are awake and can defend themselves.

From elephants to rhinos, gemsbocks to hedgehogs, and cobras to cheetahs, you will enjoy this telling of Dr. Aronson's life in the glorious bush of South Africa.

Submitted by Laurie