Chair of Veterinary Care and Dir of Research & Conservation
Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation
Dennis Schmitt, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, is a professor emeritus in the William H. Darr College of Agriculture at Missouri State University. He is the Ringling Bros. chair of veterinary care and director of research and conservation for the largest herd of Asian elephants outside of range countries. He has served as a reproductive and veterinary advisor for the AZA elephant TAG management group since 1987 and is a founding member of the International Elephant Foundation formed in 1999.
Schmitt has been active in providing veterinary care to elephants in Asia, Europe and the America’s. As an author and co-author, he has published over 80 papers on elephant reproduction and physiology. He was the veterinarian for the teams that produced the first elephant born from artificial insemination, as well as the first survivor of Elephant Endothelial Herpesvirus (EEHV) in the world.