scholarly journals Negligible hormonal response following dehorning in free-ranging white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel G Penny ◽  
Rachel L White ◽  
Lynne MacTavish ◽  
Dawn M Scott ◽  
Angelo P Pernetta
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
Physiological Stress Response ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Progesterone Metabolites ◽  
Steroid Profiles ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is experiencing unsustainable poaching losses fuelled by a demand for horn. Increasingly, private and state reserves are dehorning their rhinoceros populations in an attempt to reduce poaching pressure. Rhinoceroses use their horns in social interactions as well as during resource access and so its partial removal as part of reserve management practices may adversely influence these behaviours. Physiological stress can correlate with animal welfare, reproductive state and health and thus acts as a useful indicator of these parameters. To establish whether dehorning causes a physiological stress response, glucocorticoid and gonadal steroid profiles of free-ranging white rhinoceroses were determined through the collection and analysis of faecal steroid metabolites before and after dehorning. Faecal corticoid profiles were not influenced by the number of occasions a rhinoceros had been dehorned or by the number of days that had elapsed since dehorning. Furthermore, there was no apparent suppression in the concentrations of testosterone or progesterone metabolites in males and females, respectively, after exposure to multiple dehorning procedures. These findings should increase wildlife managers’ confidence that dehorning does not negatively impact white rhinoceros physiology as measured hormonally.

scholarly journals Changes in blood parameters and electroencephalogram of cattle as affected by different stunning and slaughter methods in cattle

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Zulkifli ◽  
Y. M. Goh ◽  
B. Norbaiyah ◽  
A. Q. Sazili ◽  
M. Lotfi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Blood Parameters ◽  
Percentage Change ◽  
Jugular Veins ◽  
Animal Blood ◽  
Physiological Stress Response ◽  
Noradrenaline Concentration ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Acth Concentration

The present study aimed to provide a comparative analysis of the effects of penetrative stunning, non-penetrative stunning and post-slaughter stunning on biochemical parameters and electroencephalogram (EEG) associated with stress in heifers and steers. Ten animals were assigned to each of the following four treatment groups: (1) animals were subjected to conventional halal slaughter (a clean incision through the structures on the ventral neck at the approximate level of vertebrae C2–C3 – the trachea, oesophagus, carotid arteries and jugular veins) and post-cut penetrating mechanical stun within 10–20 s of the halal cut (U); (2) high-power non-penetrating mechanical stunning using a mushroom-headed humane killer, followed by conventional halal slaughter (HPNP); (3) low-power non-penetrating mechanical percussive stunning using a mushroom-headed humane killer, followed by conventional halal slaughter (LPNP); and (4) penetrative stunning using a captive-bolt pistol humane killer, followed by conventional halal slaughter (P). For each animal, blood samples and electroencephalogram recordings were taken before stunning, post-stunning (if applicable) and post-slaughter, and plasma concentrations of cortisol, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), adrenaline, noradrenaline and β-endorphin were determined. Irrespective of the stunning method, except for percentage change in plasma concentrations of noradrenaline, the values of blood parameters attained before and after stunning were not significantly different. The plasma noradrenaline concentration of the HPNP animals was significantly elevated following stunning. Following slaughter, the percentage change of plasma ACTH concentration in the P animals was significantly elevated. Neither stunning method nor sampling time had a significant effect on plasma β-endorphin concentration. On the basis of the EEG results, penetrative stunning seemed to be better in maximising the possibility of post-stunning insensibility, whereas U animals appeared to demonstrate an evident increase in EEG activity which is consistent with the presence of post-slaughter noxious stimuli associated with tissue cut and injury. The U animals had consistently higher, if not the highest, RMS values than did other stunned animals. This indicates a degree of EEG changes associated with stress and pain. On the basis of EEG data, our results suggested that penetrative stunning would be the most reliable method of ensuring insensibility and minimising pain. However, at slaughter, the P animals showed a dramatic elevation in the percentage change of circulating ACTH, suggesting physiological stress response. On a cautionary note, the results are not unequivocal, and it may be that the range of analyses available to researchers at this point of time are not sufficiently specific to allow definitive conclusions to be drawn.

Baseline Hematologic Results for Free-ranging White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 916-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Miller ◽  
Peter Buss ◽  
Rachel Wanty ◽  
Sven Parsons ◽  
Paul van Helden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Severe hypoxaemia in field-anaesthetised white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and effects of using tracheal insufflation of oxygen

2004 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bush ◽  
J.P. Raath ◽  
D. Grobler ◽  
L. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Tracheal Intubation ◽  
Blood Gas ◽  
Arterial Blood Gas ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Severe Hypoxaemia ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Tracheal Insufflation ◽  
Free Ranging

White rhinoceros anaesthetised with etorphine and azaperone combination develop adverse physiological changes including hypoxia, hypercapnia, acidosis, tachycardia and hypertension. These changes are more marked in field-anaesthetised rhinoceros. This study was designed to develop a technique to improve safety for field-anaesthetised white rhinoceros by tracheal intubation and oxygen insufflation. Twenty-five free-ranging white rhinoceros were anaesthetised with an etorphine and azaperone combination for translocation or placing microchips in their horns. Once anaesthetised the rhinoceros were monitored prior to crating for transportation or during microchip placement. Physiological measurements included heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure and arterial blood gas samples. Eighteen rhinoceros were intubated using an equine nasogastric tube passed nasally into the trachea and monitored before and after tracheal insufflation with oxygen. Seven rhinoceros were not intubated or insufflated with oxygen and served as controls. All anaesthetised rhinoceros were initially hypoxaemic (percentage arterial haemoglobin oxygen saturation (% O2Sa) = 49 % + 16 (mean + SD) and PaO2 = 4.666 + 1.200 kPa (35 + 9 mm Hg)), hypercapnic (PaCO2 = 8.265 + 1.600 kPa (62 + 12 mm Hg)) and acidaemic (pHa = 7.171 + 0.073 ). Base excess was -6.7 + 3.9 mmol/ℓ, indicating a mild to moderate metabolic acidosis. The rhinoceros were also hypertensive (systolic blood pressure = 21.861 + 5.465 kPa (164 + 41 mm Hg)) and tachycardic (HR = 107 + 31/min). Following nasal tracheal intubation and insufflation, the % O2Sa and PaO2 increased while blood pHa and PaCO2 remained unchanged.Tracheal intubation via the nose is not difficult, and when oxygen is insufflated, the PaO2 and the % O2Sa increases, markedly improving the safety of anaesthesia, but this technique does not correct the hypercapnoea or acidosis. After regaining their feet following reversal of the anaesthesia, the animals' blood gas values return towards normality.

scholarly journals Cortisol, Temperament and Serotonin in Karate Combats: An Evolutionary Psychobiological Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Ponzi ◽  
Harold Dadomo ◽  
Laura Filonzi ◽  
Paola Palanza ◽  
Annalisa Pelosi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Sport Competition ◽  
Physiological Stress Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
S Allele

Abstract Objectives There is evidence suggesting that in martial arts competitions athletes characterized by higher anxiety and harm avoidance may be more likely to lose a fight. This psychological profile has been hypothesized to explain in part the observation that cortisol is higher in losers before and in response to a competition. An important research target that needs further exploration is the identification of phenotypic traits that can be helpful in predicting athletes’ performance. Here we present a brief description of the theoretical bases that drives our research in the evolutionary psychobiology of sports and illustrate preliminary data on the relationship between the 5HTTLPR genotype, salivary cortisol, temperament and competition. Methods Sixty-five healthy male non-professional athletes provided saliva samples 10 min before and after a kumite session and filled out the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Results Salivary cortisol levels 10 min before the competition were higher in losers and in athletes with the S allele. Temperament was associated with competition outcome and cortisol: losers were characterized by higher scores of harm avoidance and harm avoidance was positively correlated with cortisol levels. Conclusions The results confirm previous findings linking temperamental traits, pre-and post- competition physiological stress response with competition outcome in kumite fight. Moreover, they indicate an association between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and pre-competition salivary cortisol, thus providing a preliminary but non-conclusive evidence on the role played by the 5HTTLPR genotype as a vulnerability factor in sport competition.

scholarly journals Neosporosis in a white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) calf

2002 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Williams ◽  
I. Espie ◽  
E. Van Wilpe ◽  
A. Matthee
Keyword(s):  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Immunoperoxidase Staining ◽  
Game Species ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Caninum Antibody ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
The Town

A16-day-old white rhinoceros calf died suddenly while in excellent condition and showing no obvious previous clinical signs. It was the 9th calf of a mature female kept free-ranging with 11 other rhinoceros as well as various other game species on a 2000 hectare game breeding centre adjacent to the town of Lichtenburg and outlying cattle farmlands in the Northern Province. At post mortem examination, death was ascribed to heart failure. There was marked multifocal to coalescing subacute parasitic myocarditis with numerous proto-zoan bradyzoite cysts and free tachyzoites present amongst the predominantly round cell inflammatory infiltrate. The coccidian was positively identified as Neospora sp. using both polyclonal and murine monoclonal Neospora caninum antibody immunohistochemistry in the avidin-biotin technique. The parasites stained poorly with Toxoplasma gondii-specific immunoperoxidase staining. Ultrastructurally, a section of a bradyzoite-containing cyst, as well as tachyzoites, were largely but not totally consistent with those described for Neospora caninum. The dam showed no sign of illness. Neosporosis affecting white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) has not previously been reported. A summarised overview of neosporosis from selected publications and a recent review is given.

scholarly journals Profiling patterns of fecal 20-oxopregnane concentrations during ovarian cycles in free-ranging southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum)

2015 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemieke Catharina van der Goot ◽  
Graeme Bruce Martin ◽  
Robert Peter Millar ◽  
Monique Christina Johanna Paris ◽  
Andre Ganswindt
Keyword(s):  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Southern White Rhinoceros ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum Simum ◽  
Ovarian Cycles

Interactions among adult males and females before and after the death of the alpha male in a free-ranging troop of Japanese macaques

Primates ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Nakamichi ◽  
Yasuo Kojima ◽  
Naosuke Itoigawa ◽  
Shinji Imakawa ◽  
Shoji Machida
Keyword(s):  
Japanese Macaques ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Non-Invasive Assessment of Physiological Stress in Captive Asian Elephants

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Kumar ◽  
Muthulingam Pradheeps ◽  
Adiseshu Kokkiligadda ◽  
Rajashekhar Niyogi ◽  
Govindhaswamy Umapathy
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
Physiological Stress Response ◽  
Condition Score ◽  
In The Wild

Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations, both in the wild and in captivity, have been continually declining over the decades. The present study examined the physiological stress response of captive Asian elephants in relation to body condition score and different working conditions. A total of 870 dung samples of 37 captive elephants (24 males and 13 females) from four facilities were collected to examine fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (fGCM). The elephants in forest camps with exposure to natural habitats had a higher body condition score than those in more confined spaces. Wild born elephants and females (except in one case) had higher concentrations of fGCM than captive born elephants and males, respectively. Elephants engaged in the Dussehra festival had elevated fGCM concentrations than their counterparts at Mysore zoo. We recommend a few management practices for the long-term survival of rapidly declining captive elephant populations.

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