Tear production in three captive wild herbivores in Israel

The Schirmer tear test (STT) I was performed to evaluate tear production in 12 captive Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana), 10 captive Burchell's zebras (Equus burchelli) and five Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) at the TelAviv Rama t-Gan Zoological Center (Israel). Mean (+/-standard deviation) STT values w ere 13.2 +/- 5.1 mm/min in the ibex, 23.4 +/- 3.4 mm/ min in the zebra and 12.7 +/- 4.8 mm/min in the oryx. There were no significant effects of gende r, age, weight, or side of the eye. There were no significant differences i n STT values between ibex and oryx, but tear production in both species was significantly lower than in zebras. Knowledge of normal tear production va lues is important for the differential diagnosis of conjunctivitis and kera titis in these species.