Zoo Vet

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This presentation outlines some of the roles which the vet team has at Chester Zoo. Overall, the vets here have a highly pro-active approach to their work. The aim is to monitor animals in a way which prevents health complications, rather than only treating them if they occur.

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Read about the differences between treating domestic and zoo animals, then there are four sections to read through about some of the roles of a zoo vet:

Identifying Individuals

Health Monitoring

Intervention

Moving Animals

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A Different Kind of Vet!The conventional view of a vets role involves the reactive treatment of companion animals (e.g. pet dogs and cats)

The role of a zoo vet differs in that the focus is on preventative treatment and care. Of course, should there be the need for reactive treatment (e.g. following identification of illness or injury) then the zoo vet does what is required.

For domestic animals, people have full control over their animals and the environment in which they live. In the wild, there is very little control over the animals or the environment. The zoo vet functions in between these scenarios.

The aim of treatment can also differ. For example, severely ill pets may be treatable as they can be cared for on a daily basis. Zoo animals are different, if an animal is severely ill it may be deemed cruel to repeat what may be stressful procedures. In the wild, the limitations for animal care are more extreme, as here animals must be in peak condition to be able to survive.

Zoo vets have the added challenge of treating a variety of species. As most zoo animals are vertebrates, in reality their anatomy is very similar and their organs function in the same way. So it is about applying similar knowledge across a diverse group of animals.

Images © E.Astbury

Identifying individualsSome animals are easy to tell apart as they may be distinct from each other, or they may have

markings which are individual to them.

For other animals – telling them apart may be more of a challenge. This is where tagging and marking is very useful.

It is essential for each individual animal to be recognisable for their health and welfare, especially if a

dietary requirement is identified, if monitoring is needed or if treatment is necessary.

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© E.Astbury

For example, our keepers and vets can identify individual cheetahs from the markings on their tails.

This will be similar for the Painted Dogs, as each dog has a unique set of coat markings.

Example Methods for individual ID

Reptiles: photocopying snakes! Notching scales.

Birds: feather clipping, leg / wing rings and tags

Mammals: ear tags, freeze marking (e.g. horses) tattoos, database of markings (e.g. zebra stripes, jaguar spots), facial recognition (e.g. chimps), ear notches.

There are pros and cons for each method. Problems may occur if tags come off, ears become naturally notched over time and when reptiles shed their skin (making notching temporary).

Micro – chips are also used for permanent individual identification

Transponders are used to read the codes from the micro chips. They are extremely useful for animals where external tags would not last, for example with chimpanzees

Chimpanzee

Micro-chips can be placed under the skin when the animal is young, or during a veterinary procedure.

Animals can arrive at the Zoo already with a micro-chip, which is then checked on their arrival. The chips are a legal requirement for most species, particularly endangered ones.

The codes are also important for record keeping e.g. medical and family history. These records will be detailed and last their entire life time, no matter where they come from or where they may go to.

Click to continue Babirusa

Health Monitoring

Chester Zoo vets are highly pro-active and this involves monitoring all the animals to look for any potential health issues before they may become a problem.

One way of doing this is by investigating dung! Dung can tell the vets many things and it is used to monitor animal health regularly.

If dung from an individual animal is required, it needs to be identified from the rest of the group. One way is to add ‘markers’ to their food. This example uses coloured lentils for a cheetah.

The cheetah requiring monitoring eats the food as normal. The lentils pass through the cheetah harmlessly, and undigested as they are not cooked.

The dung can then be collected and identified from the presence of the lentils. Different colour lentils can be used at the same time to identify different cheetah.

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The vet team can then analyse the dung in a variety of ways, either as a general health check or to assess for specific potential problems.

For example, dung samples can be assessed for the presence of worms

Ascarid worm egg

Faecal culture examination

If diagnosed, the correct treatment can then be administered.

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Bio-security measures are also put in place to prevent the spread of infection (e.g. from Ascarids) to other cats.

Ascarid worm

Worming tablet

The dung can also be analysed in a more complex way to get even more in depth information about an animal.

Genetic information can even be extracted from dung. The vet team can also monitor the potential presence of any abnormally high levels of stress in the animals by measuring hormone levels extracted from dung. Cortisol is the hormone of interest. It is secreted from the adrenal gland, and its release increases with an increase in stress levels.

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Normal Cycling PregnancyAbout to

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Other hormone levels can also be tracked during important phases such as pregnancy. This chart illustrates the hormone changes which occur prior to and during the gestation period of an elephant.

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This is incredibly useful for the vets and keepers, who will then have an accurate indication of when, for example, an animal is in season or pregnant or that a birth is imminent.

As with humans, access to blood work can give a snap shot of an individuals health. For example, blood can be used to identify the presence of an infection when there are abnormally high number s of white blood cells. Blood can also indicate how well organs systems are functioning (e.g. liver, kidney) This is the same for Zoo animals. Blood samples are also often the primary source of information for the vet team if they need to identify a potential health problem.

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Red blood cells

Lymphocyte with nucleus Neutrophil with nucleus

Of course, animals are visually assessed on a daily basis by the keeper and vet team. This is aided by the individual identification made possible by tags or natural markings. With advances in technology, such visual assessments can become even more informative.

Thermal imaging cameras can be used to assess animals, particularly if the vets are looking for potential inflammation, for example around around a joint. In humans we can feel an area to see if the skin is hot, in zoo animals this is not always possible. This is where thermal imaging is useful. It looks at the surface of the skin and then provides a visualisation of the temperature difference between different part of the body. It can therefore indicate if an area is abnormally cold (restricted blood flow) or hot (increased blood flow), thus indicating potential injury or circulation issues.

Birds foot with an injured toe

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They can also be used to monitor body temperature, for example in baby animals born in the colder months.

Black Rhino mother and calf

InterventionVeterinary procedures are carried out only when absolutely necessary. Our vet team is very experienced and have to be able to cope with treating a wide variety of species, many of which may also be dangerous.

Some procedures do require anesthetising an animal. This in itself requires specialist training and a licence to use equipment such as a dart gun. The dart is a ‘flying syringe’ which is fired by the gas powered rifle.

Dart kit

Preparing the dart

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Wet hands to protect amphibian skin

Once under anaesthetic, the required surgery or treatment can take place.

For animals big…

Dental examination

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Giraffe under anaesthetic for a procedure

…and small

Chameleon abscess removalClick to continue

Throughout all operations, air, breathing and circulation (ABC) is monitored for all animals. Some of the equipment used for this is shown on the pictures.

Stomach contents (exoskeletons of crickets)

Chameleon Xray (right side) checking abscess is not linked to internal problem – all clear

Moving AnimalsFor a number of species, captive breeding is becoming increasingly important for survival. With growing threats in the wild, natural populations of many species are declining and are in serious trouble of disappearing.

Zoo vets of course have a vital role to play within captive breeding programmes, not only in monitoring health and the processes involved with managing breeding, but also in the process of moving animals when required.

One example was Asoka, a male Asiatic lion born at Chester Zoo. With only around 300 Asiatic lions left in the wild, Asoka is an important individual. He was recently moved as part of the breeding programme to another partner Zoo in Rome. The Zoo vets were on hand to make sure the move went smoothly.

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Summary

The vet team at Chester Zoo work hard on a pro-active approach to animal health and welfare

Individual animal identification is vital for effective monitoring

Health monitoring techniques within Chester Zoo include dung sampling and analysis (e.g. parasites and hormones), blood samples and observational techniques

Intervention takes place when required. The vet team are highly trained and able to cope with a wide range of species

Zoo vets play an important role in the complex management of captive breeding, which is vital for some increasingly rare species. One small part of the process is the movement of animals.