Field in Focus: Kawgun Cave

Kawgun Cave in Myanmar is a research site for wildlife veterinarians with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Global Health Program. It is also a Buddhist pilgrimage site. Wildlife veterinarians studying emerging infectious diseases that can be spread across species are focusing on a troop of macaques living at the cave because the primates often interact with and come into contact with humans. Wildlife veterinarians offer the macaques saliva swabs with a little juice. After the macaques slurp up the juice, they drop the swabs, and veterinarians collect them to test it for viruses. If scientists identify diseases the macaques may carry, their research can be used to help humans interact with the troop more safely.