Plan before the field.
Case objectives, species considerations, drug selection, dosing, equipment, team roles and contingency planning.
Good field medicine begins before anyone leaves the lodge.South Africa · Two-week summer programs
Veterinary
summer programs.
Seringa offers two-week veterinary summer programs in South Africa’s Waterberg, near Vaalwater. Students work alongside experienced wildlife veterinarians, learning how to examine, treat and care for animals in the field. Programs run during summer only.
Immersive by design
Two weeks of wildlife veterinary field learning.
Seringa offers intensive two-week programs during the summer, allowing students to return for the fall semester. Veterinary schools coordinate through leading veterinary professors at Texas A&M, which uses its agreement with Seringa to schedule each course. Experienced local veterinarians help lead the field program.
Learn beside the people who do this work every day.
From monitoring an animal’s breathing to assisting with health checks and treatment, students connect classroom knowledge with real patients. They also learn how individual animal care supports healthy wildlife populations.
Licensed wildlife veterinarians, including experienced local practitioners, lead all clinical work. The animals’ needs determine which cases proceed, what students may do and when observation is the most responsible form of participation.
South African practitioners bring local knowledge of wildlife, terrain and herd health. Their relationships with nearby ranches extend learning beyond Seringa, with each visit guided by actual veterinary needs.
2
College credit hours
For Texas A&M students
Field experience with academic credit.
Texas A&M veterinary students participating in the Seringa summer program receive two college credit hours for their time at Seringa. Future college-credit opportunities with other institutions are being evaluated individually and considered on a school-by-school basis.
The learning arc
Four disciplines. One complete case.
The exact cases change with clinical need. The professional habits behind them remain constant.
Work with calm precision.
Remote delivery, approach, restraint, scene awareness and the coordinated transition from movement to patient access.
Every role matters; every handoff is deliberate.Read the whole patient.
Monitoring, examination, sampling, diagnostics and treatment decisions under direct veterinary supervision.
Clinical thinking is taught in context, not isolation.Finish as carefully as you began.
Reversal, observation, release, patient safety and reflective case review after the field work is complete.
Recovery is part of the procedure—not an afterthought.African Wildlife Medicine · From the course archive
Learning that stays with you.
A close examination. A careful measurement. A moment together beneath a baobab. These glimpses from the 2023 course show the learning and friendships that take shape in the field.
Photographs from “African Wildlife Medicine” by James Derr, Hunter’s Horn, Spring 2024. Course experiences shown are from 2023; cases vary with animal needs and field conditions.
Patient-first learning
Real clinical need sets the curriculum.
Every case, role and teaching moment begins with the same standard: the welfare of the animal comes first. Field conditions and the direction of the attending veterinarian determine what happens next.
The patient determines the plan.
Students learn that sound veterinary judgment starts with the animal, the condition and the circumstances—not a prewritten schedule.
Responsibility is taught in real time.
Licensed wildlife veterinarians direct all clinical work and decide when participation, observation or restraint is appropriate.
Every field day has a debrief.
Teams examine the decisions behind the work so students leave with clearer habits of preparation, communication and care.
Partner-location fieldwork
Learning continues beyond the ranch.
When genuine cases and partner schedules allow, student groups travel with the professional team for licensed, supervised work with elephant, rhinoceros and lion patients. These animals are not at Seringa Ranch, and these cases do not take place on the ranch.
More than clinical technique
Learning continues when the field day ends.
At the lodge, the day can be discussed while it is still fresh: what worked, what changed, what the patient taught and what each student would carry into the next case.
01
Before
Briefing, preparation and role assignment.
02
During
Supervised field participation and observation.
03
After
Recovery review, discussion and professional reflection.
Programs are currently offered during the summer. A semester-abroad format is not presently available. Schedules and cases are designed with each university and may change to protect patient welfare or respond to field conditions.
Fourteen days in photographs
The work is only part of what students carry home.
Early starts, exacting clinical responsibilities and patient-first decisions are balanced by shared meals, long conversations and the friendships that turn a group into a field team.
For veterinary schools
Begin with Texas A&M veterinary faculty.
Seringa does not contract directly with individual veterinary schools. Leading veterinary professors at Texas A&M coordinate with interested schools and use the university’s agreement with Seringa to schedule each course, while experienced local veterinarians guide the South African field component.
Ask about summer availability.
Two-week programs run during summer only. Contact us about available places and scheduling for your university group.
Schools work through Texas A&M.
Interested schools begin with leading veterinary professors at Texas A&M, who coordinate the academic relationship and scheduling pathway with Seringa.
Experienced local veterinarians lead in the field.
Local wildlife veterinarians provide species knowledge, supervise clinical work and connect the academic program to South African practice.
Planning a university field program
Your veterinary summer program questions.
How long is the veterinary summer program?
Seringa’s veterinary student programs last two weeks and run during summer only. They are short field-learning programs, rather than a semester-abroad offering. Ask for the available summer dates and proposed schedule for your university group.
How does a veterinary school arrange a program?
Use the Contact us button under Veterinary student programs on the Seringa contact form to request current school coordination details and the Texas A&M faculty coordination pathway. Leading veterinary professors from Texas A&M and experienced local veterinarians support the academic and South African field components.
Can students receive college credit?
Texas A&M veterinary students participating in the Seringa summer program receive two college credit hours. Credit arrangements for other institutions are considered individually. Confirm your school’s requirements and any credit arrangements before participating.
What do students learn during wildlife fieldwork?
Students connect classroom learning with preparation, patient monitoring, health checks, treatment and recovery. Licensed wildlife veterinarians supervise clinical work. Each patient’s needs determine what students may do, and some cases call for observation rather than direct participation.
Where do students stay during the two-week program?
Seringa is the home base in South Africa’s Waterberg region, near Vaalwater. The lodge offers private chalets with private bathrooms, shared gathering spaces and chef-prepared meals. Ask for your university group’s accommodation arrangements and package inclusions.
Are elephants, rhinoceroses and lions at Seringa?
No. These animals are not resident at Seringa. When veterinary cases and partner schedules allow, supervised field learning may take place at off-property partner locations. Particular species, cases and encounters cannot be guaranteed.
Bring your university to Seringa
The next summer field program begins at Texas A&M.
Veterinary schools should coordinate through leading veterinary professors at Texas A&M rather than contracting with Seringa directly. Texas A&M uses its partnership agreement with Seringa to schedule the program, and experienced local veterinarians help lead the field experience.