Bongo Antelope Chemical Immobilization
The bongo is the largest and most colorful of the forest African antelopes. Males range in weight from 240 to 405 kilograms, while the females weigh between 210 and 235 kilograms. Female and juvenile bongo are chestnut red with darker legs. Males start out with the same chestnut color but darken with age, eventually becoming a dark brown. Both males and females have long spiraling horns. The bongo has large broad ears, white markings on its cheeks and legs, a white chevron between the eyes, and 10 to 15 white to yellow stripes along the torso.
There are two sub-species of this antelope: the Lowland bongo (or Western bongo) and the Mountain bongo (or Eastern bongo). They are predominantly found in the lowland forests of West Africa, where they thrive on ground level shrubs and bushes. Smaller populations are found in the montane forest regions of East Africa in the thick forest and bamboo zone.
Chemical Immobilization of Bongo Antelope
Wildlife managers, researchers and veterinarians in zoo settings sometimes need to immobilize bongo to mark them for identification, to provide veterinary treatment or to relocate them from dangerous or overpopulated locations. While the term “immobilization” references any forced restriction of movement of all or part of an animal’s body, chemical immobilization is achieved using drugs which have a range of intended effects.
The immobilization of any large wild animal can pose challenges with risks for both operators and the animal. This is where immobilization via chemical means is useful, since most wild animals will act defensively when cornered or restrained in a trap. An animal’s threshold of tolerance refers to the point at which a trapped animal will become aggressive upon human approach.1 Bongo are prey animals, and have evolved with instincts and behaviors gauged to help them survive, so this must be considered in any capture scenario.
Nearly all antelope species are large enough to be considered difficult to handle. In these cases, chemical agents (sedatives and/or anesthetics) may be delivered by hand to a restrained antelope by using a pole syringe, or by using a capture gun (either a handgun or long gun) containing a dart. Remote chemical immobilization can be carried out by approaching antelope and shooting a dart from a helicopter, an off-road vehicle, or from the ground. Considering that bongo are mostly forest-dwelling, the latter option may be considered best for this species in the field.
Depending on the procedure(s) being performed, bongo may be handled using heavy sedation or general anesthesia for invasive surgical procedures. Drug choices and combinations must be of proven safety and calculated for the weight, age, physiological and reproductive status and body condition.
The chemical immobilization of bongo antelope carries inherent risks. These include, but are not limited to capture myopathy, hypothermia, hyperthermia, respiratory depression/arrest, aspiration and cardiac arrest. Additionally, if the onset (induction) of anesthesia is slow, the risk of physical injury such as lacerations, limb injuries, head trauma etc. is increased. It is therefore extremely important for personnel in the field and/or support staff to be familiar with animal handling and immobilization techniques, as well as potential emergencies.
Drugs Used for Chemical Immobilization of Bongo
The classes of immobilizing agents typically used on antelope (including bongo) include:
Paralytic Drugs: The neuromuscular blocking (NMB) or paralytic drugs are some of the earliest drugs used for the chemical immobilization of wildlife. Despite their long history of use, NMB drugs are generally inferior to modern drugs. There are two major deficiencies of NMB drugs. One is that NMB drugs have a very low safety margin and dosage errors of only 10% can result in either no effect (underdosing) or death by asphyxia (overdosing). Mortality rates as high as 70% have occurred.1
The second deficiency is that NMB drugs are virtually devoid of central nervous system effects because of their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Thus, an animal paralyzed with NMB drugs is conscious, aware of its surroundings, fully sensory, and, as such, can feel pain and experience psychogenic stress yet is physically unable to react. Because of these deficiencies, NMB drugs should be used judiciously.3
Tranquilizers/Sedatives: Tranquilizers are used primarily in wildlife immobilization as adjuncts to primary anesthetics (e.g., ketamine, carfentanil) to hasten and smooth induction and recovery and to reduce the amount of the primary agent required to achieve immobilization. Valium is used primarily for small mammals as an anticonvulsant adjunct to ketamine anesthesia and it is also an excellent muscle relaxant. The α-adrenergic tranquilizers (e.g., xylazine, medetomidine) are potent sedatives and can be completely antagonized. They are often combined with ketamine, Telazol, or carfentanil.4 By themselves, they are capable of heavily sedating animals to the point of relatively safe handling. However, animals sedated with these tranquilizers generally can be aroused with stimulation and are capable of directed attack. Caution should always be exercised in such animals even though they appear harmless.
Dissociative Anesthetics: This group of drugs (ketamine, tiletamine) are characterized by producing a cataleptic state (a malleable rigidity of the limbs) in which the eyes remain open with intact corneal and light reflexes. Ketamine is probably one of the most widely used drugs for wildlife immobilization because of its efficacy and safety. Tiletamine is unavailable as a single product and is usually combined in equal proportions with the diazepinone tranquilizer, zolazepam (e.g., Telazol).When used singly, ketamine can cause rough inductions and recoveries, and convulsions are not uncommon. Because of this, they are usually administered concurrently with tranquilizers or sedatives.
Opioid Anesthetics: The opioids have been used for animal immobilization since the 1960s and are the most potent drugs available for this purpose. The most commonly used opioid is carfentanil. A major advantage in the use of opioids is the availability of specific antagonists. The potency of opioids, such as etorphine and carfentanil, is both an advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is the reduced volume of drug required for immobilization makes them the only class of drugs capable of remote immobilization of large animals. The disadvantage is that they are potentially toxic to humans. Death is almost always due to respiratory failure. Opioid immobilizing agents should never be used while working alone or without having an antagonist immediately on hand.2
Recovery and Reversal Agents
The duration of anesthesia in bongo is influenced by the drugs used, age, sex, body weight, procedure performed and the amount of stimulus during the procedure. Whether sedation or general anesthesia has been employed, reversal agents are often required to neutralize sedation or anesthetic agents, thus allowing the animal to completely recover from being anesthetized. This is even more important in the field than in a clinic or zoo setting, because a chemically-compromised bongo will be in danger of injury and predation.
Concerns in the area of conservation and humane treatment have helped to bring about the refinement of chemical immobilization protocols and drug development to keep these within safety margins through the use of novel anesthetics, including combinations of true anesthetics, neuromuscular blockers and tranquilizers.2 The use of antagonists to anesthetics is now widely employed, as this avoids the undesirable and potentially harmful effects of drugs and facilitates speedy recovery from chemical immobilization events.1,2
In recent years, veterinary custom compounding pharmacies have widely expanded the variety, availability and efficacy of immobilizing drugs through the development of custom formulations for wildlife such as antelope. Some of these are available in kit form, which include both the immobilizing and reversal agents.
1Pennfoster.edu. Animal Handling And Chemical Immobilization.
2Arnemo, Jon & Kreeger, Terry. (2018). Handbook of Wildlife Chemical Immobilization 5th Ed.
3Nielsen, L. Chemical Immobilization of Wild and Exotic Animals. (1999) Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University Press.
4Stoskopf, M. Handbook of Wildlife Chemical Immobilization. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2014 50:1, 157-157.
About NexGen Pharmaceuticals
NexGen Pharmaceuticals is an industry-leading veterinary compounding pharmacy, offering sterile and non-sterile compounding services nationwide. Unlike other veterinary compounding pharmacies, NexGen focuses on drugs that are difficult to find or are no longer available due to manufacturer discontinuance or have yet to be offered commercially for veterinary applications, but which still serve a critical need for our customers. We also specialize in wildlife pharmaceuticals, including sedatives and their antagonists, offering many unique options to serve a wide array of zoo animal and wildlife immobilization and anesthesia requirements.
Our pharmacists are also encouraged to develop strong working relationships with our veterinarians in order to better care for veterinary patients. Such relationships foster an ever-increasing knowledge base upon which pharmacists and veterinarians can draw, making both significantly more effective in their professional roles.
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