Spelman talks about her new book

Friday, 05 February 2010 15:40

Glue-On Shoes, at Pequot Library in Southport on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 4 p.m. This program, which is part of Pequot Library’s Meet the Authors series, is free to the public.

Dr. Spelman, who grew up in West Redding, has studied endangered animals all over the world, including giant pandas in China, Asian elephants in Burma, giant river otters in Guyana, and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She is a former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo and has just returned from central Africa after managing the field programs for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project for three years. She is currently a visiting assistant professor at Brown University.

The Rhino with the Glue-On Shoes is a collection of heart-warming stories written by 28 top zoo and wild animal vets. Dr. Spelman co-edited the book with Dr. Ted Mashima and contributed its title story. These real-life tales recount daring procedures like a root canal on a 3,000 pound hippo and spinal surgery on a kangaroo. They also describe an anorexic moray eel and the desperate attempt to save a baby whale by unraveling the mystery of her mother’s death.

Dr. Spelman speaks candidly about the lessons learned from taking care of animals from pets to those remaining in the vanishing wild. She stresses the importance of understanding how the health of one species impacts another: “Our own health is connected to that of animals and the environment. The more we study these connections, the better we understand how to maintain or restore health to entire ecosystems...We’re all in this together.”

There will be a book sale and signing following the program. For more information, contact Pequot Library at 203-259-0346 or www.pequotlibrary.org.

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