Abstract
Handling of large felids is highly risky, hence immobilization is required for the safety of personnel. Data on the effects of anesthetic drugs used for immobilizing Cougars Puma concolor are scarce. This study describes the anesthetic and cardiorespiratory effects of a combination of tiletamine-zolazepam (2mg/kg), ketamine (1.6mg/kg) and xylazine (0.4mg/kg) in pumas. Five captive adult and clinically healthy Cougars were included in this study. Animals were immobilized by remote injection using blow pipe and darts. The durations of induction, immobilization and recovery periods and their qualities were recorded. Heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature and blood pressure were recorded at five minute intervals for 25 minutes. Then all animals received 0.125mg/kg of yohimbine, intramuscularly administered. Central tendency and dispersal statistics were calculated for each parameter. The duration of the induction period was 10.4±6.4 minutes and the duration of the recovery period was 83.3±35.1 minutes. Induction, immobilization and recovery periods were smooth and adequate anesthetic depth was achieved. The mean heart rate was 122±10 beats/minute, mean respiratory rate was 10±1 breaths/minute, mean body temperature was 39.1±0.2 0 C and mean blood pressure was 139±12 mmHg. No statistically significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in vital parameters over the duration of the assessment. The tested anesthetic combination effectively immobilized the cougars included in this study and provided safety for the personnel involved. Though vital signs were not significantly affected, a degree of hypoventilation was observed and respiratory support is recommended when using this anesthetic combination in cougars.
Highlights
The Cougar Puma concolor or Mountain Lion is the second largest American felid, only surpassed in size by the Jaguar Panthera onca (Martínez et al 2010; Hernández-Guzmán et al 2011)
This study aims to assess the efficacy of a tiletaminezolazepam/ketamine/xylazine (TZKX) combination for immobilization of Puma concolor and to describe its cardiorespiratory and anesthetic effects
The mean age of animals included in this study (13.0±3.7 years) was within the reported lifespan (24 years) for this felid in captivity (Lamberski 2015), but it was higher than the reported lifespan (12 years) for free-ranging Pumas (Currier 1983)
Summary
The Cougar Puma concolor or Mountain Lion is the second largest American felid, only surpassed in size by the Jaguar Panthera onca (Martínez et al 2010; Hernández-Guzmán et al 2011) It is distributed from British Columbia in Canada to Tierra del Fuego in Chile, and has the largest distribution range of all neotropical felids and terrestrial mammals in the Western hemisphere (Caso et al 2008; Macdonald et al 2010). Large felids are defined as having adult body weight >20kg (Gunkel & Lafortune 2007) and anatomical characteristics including large sharp claws, specialized teeth for grabbing and tearing, and powerful mandibular muscles (Fowler 2008; Macdonald et al 2010) which enable them to kill a person (Fowler 2008) For these reasons handling of this group of animals is risky and must be done under appropriate safety measures. Chemical immobilization with anesthetic drugs allows both the safe handling and the minimizing of stress for the animal (Vesal & Tabatabaei 2007; Fowler 2008; Rockhill et al 2011)
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