PHX Reporter

A group of Arizona veterinarians recently traveled to South Africa to take care of wild animals.

The trip was part of the Dean Rice Memorial African Safari Study Expedition program, according to KNXV. The program honors Rice, "a champion of veterinary medicine in the Valley." It was created by the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association to pay tribute to Rice after he died of cancer in 2021.

The group of nine veterinarians worked with William Fowlds, a South African wildlife specialist who is committed to conserving endangered animals, KNXV reported.

"It was very incredible and Dr. Fowlds was wonderful because we wanted to help them," veterinarian Gayle Leith said. "We didn't want to hurt them and we wanted to be respectful, and he was super at guiding us on how to do things."

One of the main points of the trip was to promote the need for sustainability, Fowlds said.

"You [sic] got to look at nature as this asset that our future depends on," he said. "We've got to invest, reinvest, in the sustainability of our natural world, and whether that's done in South Africa or whether that's done here, it's a collective effort that we all share as a responsibility because literally, our future depends on it."

Fowlds worked with Rice for more than a decade, as Rice led groups to South Africa, according to KNXV.

"It's amazing to know that in spite of his passing, the things that were really important to him, the natural world, wild animals, and the future of that, are going to be better off because of what he stood for and the passion that he showed and the lives that he touched," Fowlds said.