Spelman's Response to Nichols's Letter to the National Academy of Sciences (washingtonpost.com)

Spelman's Response to Nichols's Letter to the National Academy of Sciences

"Animal care at the National Zoo is a team effort among keepers and curators, veterinary staff and pathology staff. In order to ensure quality care for the animals, there must be a constant flow of information and communication between the staffs.

"The Zoo animal care team is composed of the Zoo staff, plus more than 20 medical experts, including oncologists, ophthalmologists and cardiologists. Our group of talented professionals treats 400 to 700 sick animals every year.

"Dr. Nichols's perspective is based on his interpretation of records he did not create, situations in which he did not participate, and areas in which he had no expertise. As a pathologist, he studied animals after they died, and determined the cause of death.

"I am confident the National Academy of Sciences will conduct its study of the Zoo from an unbiased, scientific perspective. I look forward to receiving the Academy's recommendations about how to improve our care of the animals at the National Zoo."



		^_____Audio^_____ • Lucy H. Spelman talks about the process of writing animal care reports. • Spelman discusses writing and changing veterinarian reports. • Spelman discusses the death of Lionel the giraffe, after an attempt to anesthetize the animal. • Spelman talks about improving the zoo's record keeping. ^_____Graphics^_____ • Changed Veterinary Records • Inside the Zoo Deaths ^_____Documents^_____ • Donald K. Nichols's letter to the National Science Academy. • Lucy H. Spelman's response. Ryma the Giraffe • Email about the cause of death. • Follow-up email about the cause of death. Tana the Lion • Pathology report. • Veterinary notes, printed on Oct. 21, 2002. • Changed veterinary notes, printed on Sept. 26, 2003. Phoenix the Bobcat • Pathology report. • Veterinary notes, printed on Nov. 26, 2002. • Changed veterinary notes, printed on Oct. 9, 2003. Micronesian Kingfisher • Veterinary notes, printed on Nov. 29, 2002. • Changed veterinary notes, printed on Oct. 22, 2003. Pensi the Orangutan • Pathology report. • Euthanasia form. Sybil the Macaque • Pathology report. • Response from chief veterinarian Suzan Murray about changes to veterinary notes. • The National Zoo Communications Plan detailing how to handle media coverage of deaths at the zoo. ^_____Live Discussions^_____ • Post staff writers James Grimaldi, Karlyn Barker and D'Vera Cohn discussed their series on the National Zoo. • General curator of the National Zoo William Xanten discussed the zoo and The Post series. • Suzan Murray, head veterinarian at the National Zoo, will be online at 2 p.m. ET Thursday to discuss The Post investigative series and animal care and medical treatment at the institution.