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Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: It is known that the death rate amongst giraffes during immobilisation, capture and transportation is high. However, during this study period (2011 to 2021), 75 giraffes were captured for the collection of various samples and purposes and none of these individuals died. General exper...

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Autores principales: Deacon, Francois, Daffue, Willem, Nel, Pierre, Higgs, Ruan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9137789/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35625136
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12101290
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author Deacon, Francois
Daffue, Willem
Nel, Pierre
Higgs, Ruan
author_facet Deacon, Francois
Daffue, Willem
Nel, Pierre
Higgs, Ruan
author_sort Deacon, Francois
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: It is known that the death rate amongst giraffes during immobilisation, capture and transportation is high. However, during this study period (2011 to 2021), 75 giraffes were captured for the collection of various samples and purposes and none of these individuals died. General experiences and lessons learned during these captures are described. Data on the knockdown times on 43 occasions of giraffe immobilisation were recorded and analysed. We hope that this shared information could help in shaping future standard operating procedures to increase the success of handling giraffes and ultimately contribute to the conservation of the species. ABSTRACT: One of the highest occurrences of mortalities among giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) takes place during immobilisations, captures and translocations. Common mistakes, human error, unforeseen risks, the awkward anatomy and the sheer size of the animal are leading factors for giraffes’ mortalities during these operations. Many risks can be circumvented but some risks are unpreventable, often due to terrain characteristics (rivers, deep ditches, holes and rocky terrain). From 2011 to 2021, seventy-five giraffes were successfully immobilised and captured to collect biological and physiological data from eight different study areas across South Africa. A 0% mortality and injury rate was achieved and, therefore, the techniques described in this paper are testimony to the advances and improvements of capture techniques and drugs. Biological information and capture experiences were noted for 75 immobilised giraffes, of which, knockdown time data were recorded for 43 individuals. Effective and safe immobilisation requires a competent team, proper planning, skill and knowledge. In this manuscript, we address procedures, techniques, ethical compliance, welfare and safety of the study animals. General experiences and lessons learned are also shared and should benefit future captures and immobilisations by limiting the risks involved. The sharing of experiences and information could influence and improve critical assessments of different capture techniques and can likely contribute to the success rate of immobilisation and translocation success for giraffes in the future.
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spelling pubmed-91377892022-05-28 Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) Deacon, Francois Daffue, Willem Nel, Pierre Higgs, Ruan Animals (Basel) Communication SIMPLE SUMMARY: It is known that the death rate amongst giraffes during immobilisation, capture and transportation is high. However, during this study period (2011 to 2021), 75 giraffes were captured for the collection of various samples and purposes and none of these individuals died. General experiences and lessons learned during these captures are described. Data on the knockdown times on 43 occasions of giraffe immobilisation were recorded and analysed. We hope that this shared information could help in shaping future standard operating procedures to increase the success of handling giraffes and ultimately contribute to the conservation of the species. ABSTRACT: One of the highest occurrences of mortalities among giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) takes place during immobilisations, captures and translocations. Common mistakes, human error, unforeseen risks, the awkward anatomy and the sheer size of the animal are leading factors for giraffes’ mortalities during these operations. Many risks can be circumvented but some risks are unpreventable, often due to terrain characteristics (rivers, deep ditches, holes and rocky terrain). From 2011 to 2021, seventy-five giraffes were successfully immobilised and captured to collect biological and physiological data from eight different study areas across South Africa. A 0% mortality and injury rate was achieved and, therefore, the techniques described in this paper are testimony to the advances and improvements of capture techniques and drugs. Biological information and capture experiences were noted for 75 immobilised giraffes, of which, knockdown time data were recorded for 43 individuals. Effective and safe immobilisation requires a competent team, proper planning, skill and knowledge. In this manuscript, we address procedures, techniques, ethical compliance, welfare and safety of the study animals. General experiences and lessons learned are also shared and should benefit future captures and immobilisations by limiting the risks involved. The sharing of experiences and information could influence and improve critical assessments of different capture techniques and can likely contribute to the success rate of immobilisation and translocation success for giraffes in the future. MDPI 2022-05-18 /pmc/articles/PMC9137789/ /pubmed/35625136 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12101290 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Communication
Deacon, Francois
Daffue, Willem
Nel, Pierre
Higgs, Ruan
Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title_full Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title_fullStr Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title_full_unstemmed Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title_short Effective Field Immobilisation and Capture of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
title_sort effective field immobilisation and capture of giraffe (giraffa camelopardalis)
topic Communication
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9137789/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35625136
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12101290
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