9.14.04

Kanapeckas performs a medical procedure on a whitetail buck that had a liver biopsy

Erskine biology major gets close to Colorado wildlife

Erskine College sophomore Kim Kanapeckas spent the summer as a wildlife technician for the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), working with a variety of animals, from the cute and cuddly to the dead and decaying.

"I went wherever I was needed to go and did whatever I was needed to do," Kanapeckas said. "My work exposed me to the art of the necropsy (autopsy), the demands of the microbiology laboratory, and the unpredictability of the field."

The biology major's tasks ranged from the care and feeding of wildlife babies — mule deer and whitetail fawns, bighorn lambs, and an elk calf — to extracting tissue samples from elk and deer carcasses.

Kanapeckas said she raised a number of animals, some off location from the lab, but "dozens more at the wildlife research facility." She traveled to Horsetooth Reservoir "at least daily" to raise and treat orphan fawns, and grew attached to the animals.

"I wanted to pack all the critters in my luggage and take them home with me," she said.

In the process of her work and necessary travel Kanapeckas also learned to drive a manual transmission truck. "The mountains aren't that forgiving," she said.

Kanapeckas said the tissue samples she extracted from animal carcasses were used in testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a neurological disease endemic to Colorado and affecting deer and elk. But collecting tissue samples was only the beginning.

"Telemetry, tranquilizing game for biopsies, collecting blood for genotyping, and performing nucleic acid extractions were all tasks in which I was involved," she said.

Other hands-on experiences with wildlife for Kanapeckas included administering medication to animals in her care.

"I couldn't believe how much responsibility was given to Kim," Erskine biology professor Dr. Stefanie Baker said. "At the end of her time there, someone asked her where she did her graduate work."

Kanapeckas kept in touch with several professors during the summer, including Baker and Dr. Jan Haldeman, professor emerita of biology.

"I especially appreciated notes from Kim reporting her activities," Haldeman said. "Not only did she send descriptions of the kind of animal care and treatment techniques she was practicing, but she also wrote about and sent samples of beautiful silvery leaves from trees growing in the Fort Collins area."

Haldeman said the leaves turned out to be from an invasive species called Russian olive, not a true olive. "Kim's keen observations demonstrate her versatility and broad range of interests."

"Kim is without a doubt one of the most industrious students with whom I've worked," Baker said. "She sought out the job in Colorado and made all the necessary contacts on her own."

But Baker wasn't sure Kanapeckas had a shot at the wildlife job. "When she first told me about the possibility of going to Colorado, I thought her chances were slim to none, not because I doubted her ability, but because Dr. Miller (in Colorado) had no idea who she was or what kind of background she had.

"After all, she had just completed her first full year of college courses."

"Kim spent a lot of time researching summer opportunities to work with scientists and wildlife veterinarians," Erskine biology professor Dr. Mary Lang Edwards said. "Then she talked to those whose research most clearly matched her own interests and was accepted by more than one research program."

"This experience was instrumental in refining my professional goal of becoming a big-game biologist and researcher," Kanapeckas said, adding that her primary ambition is "to serve the Lord in the fullest capacity and remain open to His desires for my life."

The exhilaration of living and working in the mountains of Colorado remains with Kanapeckas. "The sheer beauty of Colorado is breathtaking," she said. "The veterinarians, researchers, and technicians seamlessly joined their skills, and I was honored to be welcomed as part of the CDOW’s dynamic team."

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