Standing sedation with medetomidine and butorphanol in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

• Published in: The veterinary journal (1997) 2016-03, Vol.209, p.190-192
• Main Authors: Lüders, I., Tindall, B., Young, D., van der Horst, G., Botha, S., Luther, I., Maree, L., Bertschinger, H.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Factors; Animals; Butorphanol; Butorphanol - administration & dosage; Conscious Sedation - veterinary; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Combinations; Elephant bull; Elephants; Hyaluronidase; Hypnotics and Sedatives - administration & dosage; Male; Medetomidine; Medetomidine - administration & dosage; Posture
• ISSN: 1090-0233; 1532-2971
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.07.014

•Thirty-three standing sedations (n = 33) were undertaken in 12 African bull elephants.•Induction was with butorphanol and medetomidine with or without hyaluronidase.•Time to full sedation was 25.5 min or 16.5 min with hyaluronidase.•Reversal with atipamezole and naltrexone took place after a mean of 7.5 min.•This sedation protocol is reliable and safe for semen collection and transrectal ultrasound procedures. Doses for standing sedation allowing for various procedures in otherwise inaccessible, untrained captive African elephant bulls are presented. Thirty-three standing sedations were performed in 12 males aged 8–30 years (one to four sedations per animal). Each bull received a combination of 0.009 ± 0.002 mg/kg medetomidine and 0.03 ± 0.007 mg/kg butorphanol. Full sedation was reached on average 25.5 min after injection. The addition of hyaluronidase (1000–2000 IU) significantly reduced time to full sedation to 16.5 min (paired t test, P = 0.024). Reversal was induced with intramuscular atipamezole 0.008 (±0.002) and naltrexone 0.035 (±0.015) mg/kg. Recovery took on average 7 min (3–18 min). The medetomidine/butorphanol combination provided safe standing sedation for smaller procedures.