A PRACTICAL ANESTHESIA MONITORING PROTOCOL FOR FREE-RANGING ADULT AFRICAN ELEPHANTS (LOXODONTA-AFRICANA)

Twenty free-ranging adult African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in no rthern Botswana were immobilized with a mean (+/-SD) of 9.5 +/- 0.5 mg etorphine hydrochloride and 2,000 IU hyaluronidase by intramuscular ( IM) dart. The mean time to recumbency was 8.7 +/- 2.4 min. All animals were maintained in lateral recumbency. The anesthesia monitoring prot ocol included cardiothoracic auscultation; palpation of auricular puls e for quality and regularity; checking of rectal temperature, and moni toring of respiratory; and heart rates. Results of basic physiologic m easurements were similar to those of previous field studies of African elephants immobilized with etorphine or etorphine-hyaluronidase. In a ddition, continuous real-time pulse rate and percent oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (SpO(2)) readings were obtained on 16 elephants with a portable pulse oximeter. Duration of pulse oximetry monitoring ranged from 3 to 24 min (mean +/- SD = 8.2 +/- 4.8 min). Differences between minimum and maximum SpO(2) values for any given elephant ranged from 1 to 6 percentage points, evidence for relatively stable trends. The Sp O(2) readings ranged from 70% to 96% among the 16 elephants, with a me an of 87.3 +/- 2.8%. Fifteen of 16 elephants monitored with a pulse ox imeter had mean SpO(2) values greater than or equal to 81 +/- 2.4%, wi th 11 having mean SpO(2) values greater than or equal to 85 +/- 1.5%. All 20 animals recovered uneventfully following reversal: diprenorphin e at 23.3 +/- 1.5 mg intravenous (IV) with 11.7 +/- 0.5 mg IM, or 24 m g diprenorphine given all IV.