Abstract
Chemical immobilization is used to minimize stress and pain while safely handling wild animals under field conditions. Eight wild bobcats (Lynx rufus) were immobilized for radio collar fittings between March 2005 and March 2007, using a commercial tiletamine hydrochloride-zolazepam hydrochloride combination (Zoletil® Virbac, Carros, France). Bobcats were captured using soft catch spring traps (Victor No. 3) in the Sonoran Desert of Baja California Sur, Mexico. A mean (±SD) intramuscular total dose of 44.3 ± 2.9 mg (6.0 mg kg–1) produced an induction time of 9 ± 4.9 min, and a duration of cataleptic anesthesia of 46.5 ±11.4 min. No adverse reactions were observed in animals during handling, and telemetry monitoring indicated that all individuals were alive for at least one year after the procedure. The results of this study indicate that use of tiletamine-zolazepam administered at 6 mg/kg dose is suitable for short-term chemical immobilization of bobcats in the wild.
Highlights
Chemical procedures for the immobilization of wildlife minimize stress and pain while animals are being handled
This paper presents information on the use of a tiletamine-zolazepam commercial combination regarding immobilization effects, as well as induction, maintenance, recovery, and inability times during anesthesia, to determine suitability as a protocol for bobcat sedation under field conditions
The commercial analgesic solution Zoletil® was administered according to manufacturer instructions (Virbac S.A., Carros, France 2003), using the recommended dose for bobcats (6.0 mg/kg)
Summary
Chemical procedures for the immobilization of wildlife minimize stress and pain while animals are being handled It is a necessary approach in projects that require safety for animals and handlers under field conditions and is frequently used for procedures such as blood drawing and smear sampling to evaluate health status, or telemetry collar fittings for free-ranging population studies.[1] Restraint procedures are especially important in studies attempting to assess the effects of changes in the ecosystems and habitat fragmentation due to human activities. Research in this area is essential to implement optimal conservation strategies for top-order predators such as carnivorous mammalian species. The post-sedation survival data of individuals has been seldomly reported.[10,11,12,13]
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