Alex McFarland, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. McFarland has lived in 7 different states, but grew up in southern Ohio with many days spent at the Cincinnati Zoo where he fell in love with wildlife. He received his bachelors in zoology and primatology from Miami University. During this time he studied Orangutans and community conservation initiatives in Malaysian Borneo, guiding his choice to pursue zoo and exotic medicine as a career path. He received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University and trained with zoological medicine specialists at the Bronx Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and Smithsonian National Zoo. He completed post-doctoral training with internships in small animal and exotics medicine at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists and in zoological and aquatic medicine at the Minnesota Zoo. He is currently an associate veterinarian at the John Ball Zoo and has a zoological companion animal practice at a specialty hospital in Grand Rapids. He has published research on a myriad of topics including amoebiasis in reptiles, okapi anesthesia, and a comprehensive review on binturong health. He has special interests in anesthesia, oncology, and in minimally invasive diagnostics and surgery. When not at work he enjoys getting outdoors in the sun or snow, camping and hiking with his two Siberian Huskies, Finn and Korra on his quest to visit every US national park.