AMES, Iowa -- An Iowa State University alumnus, who is chief veterinarian at the Houston Zoo, will speak about wildlife conservation at his alma mater on April 21.
Joe Flanagan will present "That Horse Has Stripes! How Zoos and Veterinarians Are Helping to Save Wildlife" at 7 p.m. Monday, April 21, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. His talk is free and open to the public.
Set in a 55-acre lush tropical landscape, the Houston Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species. When not treating the animals at the zoo, Flanagan's conservation activities include providing medical care to the National Marine Fisheries Sea Turtle barn in Galveston, advising the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station, and extensive work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His work with sea turtles has been detailed in the Houston Chronicle in 2011 and 2013.
Flanagan graduated from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982. After graduation, he trained at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo until he began work as a veterinarian at the Houston Zoo in December 1982. He is a member of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians and served as its president in 2005. He also is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Association of Avian Veterinarians, Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, Wildlife Disease Association and Turtle Survival Alliance. Flanagan received the Environmental Hero Award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2000 for volunteer work in the recovery of Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.
Flanagan's talk is co-sponsored by National Affairs; the Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife Club; and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.
More information on ISU lectures is available online or by calling 515-294-9935.
