Cargando…

Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy

We report a successful surgical sterilization procedure for population control of 324 male and female free-ranging grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Genoa (Italy). We describe the clinical procedure from the trapping of the animals to their surgical sterilization and release in another part o...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: SCAPIN, Paola, ULBANO, Massimo, RUGGIERO, Chiara, BALDUZZI, Andrea, MARSAN, Andrea, FERRARI, Nicola, BERTOLINO, Sandro
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6483921/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30828030
http://dx.doi.org/10.1292/jvms.18-0319
_version_ 1783414028668764160
author SCAPIN, Paola
ULBANO, Massimo
RUGGIERO, Chiara
BALDUZZI, Andrea
MARSAN, Andrea
FERRARI, Nicola
BERTOLINO, Sandro
author_facet SCAPIN, Paola
ULBANO, Massimo
RUGGIERO, Chiara
BALDUZZI, Andrea
MARSAN, Andrea
FERRARI, Nicola
BERTOLINO, Sandro
author_sort SCAPIN, Paola
collection PubMed
description We report a successful surgical sterilization procedure for population control of 324 male and female free-ranging grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Genoa (Italy). We describe the clinical procedure from the trapping of the animals to their surgical sterilization and release in another part of the city. Live-trapped squirrels were transported to the veterinary clinic within 1–2 hr of capture and maintained in a hospitalization room reserved for them. The waiting period before surgery was kept below 12 hr. The developed procedure has resulted in a survival of 94% of trapped squirrels from surgery to animal release. Sterilized squirrels started to feed in a very short time (1.0–1.5 hr), and after 2–3 days, it was possible to release them in a new area. Amoxicillin was used as a long-acting postoperative antibiotic to reduce the period of captivity. The successful surgical procedure described here can provide an important additional tool for the management of introduced populations of squirrels. We showed that the surgical sterilization of some hundred squirrels is clinically possible and could be included in management strategies aimed at removing critical populations of these species. Moreover, the data allow dosages and operational times in order to provide economic viability assessment of future population control measures.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6483921
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2019
publisher The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-64839212019-04-30 Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy SCAPIN, Paola ULBANO, Massimo RUGGIERO, Chiara BALDUZZI, Andrea MARSAN, Andrea FERRARI, Nicola BERTOLINO, Sandro J Vet Med Sci Wildlife Science We report a successful surgical sterilization procedure for population control of 324 male and female free-ranging grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Genoa (Italy). We describe the clinical procedure from the trapping of the animals to their surgical sterilization and release in another part of the city. Live-trapped squirrels were transported to the veterinary clinic within 1–2 hr of capture and maintained in a hospitalization room reserved for them. The waiting period before surgery was kept below 12 hr. The developed procedure has resulted in a survival of 94% of trapped squirrels from surgery to animal release. Sterilized squirrels started to feed in a very short time (1.0–1.5 hr), and after 2–3 days, it was possible to release them in a new area. Amoxicillin was used as a long-acting postoperative antibiotic to reduce the period of captivity. The successful surgical procedure described here can provide an important additional tool for the management of introduced populations of squirrels. We showed that the surgical sterilization of some hundred squirrels is clinically possible and could be included in management strategies aimed at removing critical populations of these species. Moreover, the data allow dosages and operational times in order to provide economic viability assessment of future population control measures. The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science 2019-03-01 2019-04 /pmc/articles/PMC6483921/ /pubmed/30828030 http://dx.doi.org/10.1292/jvms.18-0319 Text en ©2019 The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License. (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
spellingShingle Wildlife Science
SCAPIN, Paola
ULBANO, Massimo
RUGGIERO, Chiara
BALDUZZI, Andrea
MARSAN, Andrea
FERRARI, Nicola
BERTOLINO, Sandro
Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title_full Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title_fullStr Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title_full_unstemmed Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title_short Surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in Italy
title_sort surgical sterilization of male and female grey squirrels (sciurus carolinensis) of an urban population introduced in italy
topic Wildlife Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6483921/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30828030
http://dx.doi.org/10.1292/jvms.18-0319
work_keys_str_mv AT scapinpaola surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT ulbanomassimo surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT ruggierochiara surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT balduzziandrea surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT marsanandrea surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT ferrarinicola surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly
AT bertolinosandro surgicalsterilizationofmaleandfemalegreysquirrelssciuruscarolinensisofanurbanpopulationintroducedinitaly