Anaesthesia of gemsbok (Oryx gazella) with a combination of A3080, medetomidine and ketamine

An effective anaesthesia protocol was developed for adult free-ranging gems bok (Oryx gazella) using a combination of A3080, medetomidine and ketamine. A short induction time; good muscle relaxation, adequate oxygenation and s table heart rate and respiration rate characterised this anaesthetic regime . Equal doses of A3080 and medetomidine (22-45 mug/kg) plus 300 mg of ketam ine were administered to each animal. The anaesthesia was rapidly and compl etely reversed by intramuscular naltrexone at a dose of (X) over bar = 0.9 +/- 0.2 mg/kg and a tipamezole at a dose (K) over bar +/- 90 +/- 20 mug/kg. No mortality or morbidity occurred with this protocol.