Dr. Ginger Sturgeon ’00 is director of Animal Health at Pittsburgh Zoo and PPg Aquarium.

Her patients are from every corner of the globe and they share diverse ailments in a language she can’t understand, but Dr. Ginger Sturgeon ’00 still manages to save lives as the Director of Animal Health at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Small changes in feeding or behavior are often her biggest clues into the state of a rare animal’s health.

“Each case is a different puzzle waiting to be figured out,” she explains.

Dr. Sturgeon leads a team of five zoo veterinary staff who care for the 475 different species in residence. Some days, Dr. Sturgeon’s job is more routine care such as giving vaccines to the big cats like the Amur leopard and lions. Other days it is more of a challenge, such as how to treat a sea anemone that swallowed a hamster ball twice its size.

“Every minute, every hour and every day is different and that is what keeps my job interesting,” says Dr. Sturgeon.

Her career has taken her to Africa to save three African elephants and bring them back to the U.S. in 2009 and to the coasts of the southeastern United States where she participated in life-saving measures rescuing critically ill sea turtles during the BP oil spill in 2010.  However, her proudest moment is the birth of an endangered black rhino, marking the first calf born in over 45 years at the Zoo.

“The birth of a black rhino calf is so important,” says Dr. Sturgeon. “This calf is not only an ambassador for the species, which helps us to educate and promote conservation efforts, but she is the first of her bloodline. This means that she is introducing new DNA to help to strengthen the population.”

Dr. Sturgeon also credits the teamwork between the veterinary and keeper staff on the successful birth.

“We worked together to make sure that both rhinos were in good health and to teach Azizi to trust us enough to take blood and perform an ultrasound so we could monitor the baby’s growth.”

Dr. Sturgeon says that her start to success came from her biology classes at BGSU and especially from her professors Dr. Paul Moore and Dr. Lee Meserve, who constantly engaged their students and built excitement for their career choices.

While attending BGSU, Dr. Sturgeon was in the University Honors program, a resident advisor and member of the Alpha Phi sorority.  Her advice to other students is to study hard but still make time for relationships with friends, faculty, and staff.

“I will always remember my time at BGSU, says Dr. Sturgeon. “The professors really took the time to get to know each one of us and to help and guide everyone in the right direction.”