Breeding - Veterinary care

As far as the infections are considered the situation was quite calm. Repeatedly we had to solve several resources of salmonellas but we managed them successfully. The presence of aviary influenza was typical for the year of 2006. Neither in the area of the zoological garden nor in its vicinity was the infection located. Despite this fact we discussed thoroughly the option of precaution vaccination bearing in mind the situation in whole Europe. At the beginning it seemed that there would be blanket vaccination in all the zoological gardens in the Czech republic. Based on the experience from other European zoos and after long and repeated discussions between the representatives of the zoos and the State Veterinary Administration of CR we did no vaccinate. This measure proved to be very forsightful and we would like to thank all the participants.

In January we decided to make a complex examination of the male Komodo dragon. We took his blood and x-rayed his bodily cavities. His very good appetite caused the enlargement of the body cavity. Later on the curator changed the dose of food for him. At the female of Amur leopard we found erosions of the tongue and the serologic examination proved the herpes virus infection. We managed this state in seven days by a supportive therapy. A Sumatran tigress broke her top left canine tooth. We had to immobilise her and in cooperation with a dentist we had to cure the tooth. The female of Barbary sheep broke twice the femur of her left hind limb. As she was highly gravid, we let the fracture heal conservatively. In the quarantine the female of Cape porcupine died of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This bacterium proved to be resistant against several types of antibiotics. In the common exposition the male of Eland antelope injured the male of lechwe antelope. He had contusioned lumbar vertebra and then the spinal cord was also impaired. The lechwe antelope was getting worse and despite all the efforts we did not manage the state. At the shoebills we continued with the blood tests and checking x-ray examinations. It took quite a long time to cure the pressure sores on the middle toes of both feet of a coscoroba swan. The female of flying phalanger died suddenly and in her urinary bladder we found an unknown species of a round worm that caused its obstruction. Apathy, weakness and anorexia at llama alpaca continued for more than two weeks. Thanks to a thorough diagnostics we found out lack of ferrum, glycaemia, glycosuria and increased levels of leucocytes. At the end we managed to control the state therapeutically and most probably it was caused by the infection of Clostridium perfringens, type E.

In February we noticed the increased growth of papulous mass on the top gum at the male pig-tailed macaque. By a histological examination we found out that it was an oral papilloma. Unfortunately we lost the male of Southern pudu this month. The post mortem examination diagnosed the festering inflammation of a kidney with the movement towards the serosa of the abdominal cavity. At the confiscated Fischer's chameleon we repeatedly had to solve the in-taken load of eggs. After the application of calcium and oxytocin the females managed to lay the eggs. At the newly arrived female cheetah we cured for several days the acute rhinotracheitis. At the little honey badger we noticed sudden apathy and anorexia. The young one did not defend itself and was absolutely resigned. Thanks to intensive therapy the state got back to normal. At the black-handed spider monkeys the breeders registered the presence of quite deep wounds on the sides. The animals cleaned the wounds to each other and so enlarged them as well. We had to cure them surgically and then hospitalise them with bandaged hands and so we managed to solve the problem. The young female of bongo antelope broke her left metatarsus in the middle of its length. We stabilised the limb by a resin cast. In six weeks we proclaimed the fracture to be healed. This female is supposed to leave next year for Indonesia as an exchange for the already obtained Komodo dragons. At the Cuban ground iguana after its sudden death we found out yolk peritonitis caused by ruptures of yolk balls in the oviducts.

In March we noticed at red-handed tamarins weakness and shaking of body and limbs. These symptoms were significant namely at the female. We added vitamin D3 to their food and their state improved quickly. The young male of Barbary sheep broke his left horn and the snag was bleeding very much. The breeders managed to catch the animal soon and so we could cover it safely with a bandage. The old female of Bactrian camel gave birth unexpectedly in the range. From the very beginning , the little one was very slow and late in its expressions. Furthermore, we found out a deformity in the carpal joint of left fore limb. Despite all the efforts we did not manage to correct its state and at the end we had to perform euthanasia. The post mortem examination revealed also some changes in the brain that explained the above-mentioned changes in behaviour. The female of bongo antelope after the birth had a prolapsed vagina which called for anaesthesia, reposition and fixation by Fless staples. After ten days we removed the staples and there was no relapse. The joining of brown hyenas was much excited and the animals behaved aggressively to each other. The new male did not end up very well as the female bit off part of the gum of his bottom jaw. However, hyenas are very hard animals. A-week-long application of analgesic and antibiotic prevented further complications and the animal did not even stop eating. The female of Steller’s eagle injured the forearm of her left wing. It was a deep and old wound that needed two weeks of intensive therapy. At the beginning the female refused food and protested against catching. After several days she adapted to the therapy and it became much easier. She injured herself probably when flying too close to the part of a tree in the aviary. The female takin gave birth prematurely. We did not find any cause of the infection and the little one had not been fully developed yet but there were no abnormalities. The female of yellow-necked spurfowl was not able to lay the eggs repeatedly. We supported her pharmacologically and late in the afternoon she laid the eggs. As this problem repeated several times we decided to leave the animal in peace and did not give her any medicaments. So far she has been able to deal with the problem herself. At the male of cheetah, the breeder noticed anorexia and swollen left face. In anaesthesia we found an abscess in the oral cavity. After the cure the state of the cheetah returned back to normal very quickly.

In April we had to solve alopecia at two females of pig-tailed macaques. After several tests we reached the conclusion that it was psychologically conditioned problem. Both animals pulled the fur themselves. After we separated them from the group and applied biotin we noticed continual growth of the fur. Unfortunately when we returned them back to the group the pathologic behaviour repeated. At the young male of pig-tailed macaque the breeder noticed stiff walking and unwillingness to move. The male was most probably attacked by the leader of the group or he could have got injured by falling from a tree. After we rejected any other causes and evaluated his state we applied analgesic and his state got normal. The wapiti stag attacked the oldest female in the range and pierced the knee of her right hind limb. The damage of the knee was quite large and the wound got bacterially infected. And so we could not help the animal. It is still a mystery for us how the male of brown hyena could break his leg in such a way. The breeder first noticed walking with a limp at the right fore limb. It did not improve for several days and so we examined the limb thoroughly. We diagnosed a complicated fracture of the humerus and we managed to stabilise that in co-operation with our colleagues from a veterinary clinic. The breeders registered an episode of sudden loss of consciousness at a male sitatunga in the water world. We were thinking about a possible epileptic fit. However, the male died two weeks after this episode. During the post mortem examination we found an abscess in the right heart ventricle and abscedation of the lungs. At the female of sable antelope we diagnosed traumatic reticular-peritonitis. Unfortunately we did not manage to save the animal. In the range of North American porcupines we had to deal with the repeated parasitic infection (taenia). The cure by Praziquantel did not seem to be enough and we therefore applied fenbendazol for five days in standard doses. Unfortunately it turned out that this species is extremely sensitive to this medication. As far as natality is considered the year was very successful at the giraffes. The little one did not survive in one case only. The mother caused it trauma of the head and furthermore we found bacteria in the brain. The mother was a primipara and this can explain her behaviour. In this month we found at a young male of crested pelican the poisoning by PCB and DDT. We were monitoring the clinical expressions of the poisoning for some time but just the post mortem examination proved it. The fish the pelicans ate could be the source of the extraneous substance. A female that came from the same load as the male suffered from similar symptoms. At her we found high level of mercury. Other factors could have played their role as well, e.g. the genetics of the parents or the diminished immunity of these birds. At both birds we found the same severe parenchymatous degeneration of the liver.

In May we had to say good-bye to one of the oldest American black bear kept in human care. It was not able to move due to advanced arthritis of hind limbs. The end of life of a blesbock was similar as it had significant pathologic growth of bone tissue at both carpal joints. One limb was in permanent extension and the other one in flexion.

In June we helped to the Forests of the city of Prague company as we arranged the overgrown cloven hoof of flared-horned markhor, moufflons and a fallow deer. At the female Sumatran tigress we had to remove part of the pathologically changed mammary gland and make a plastic surgery on her left side. In this month we also had to correct the overgrown hooves at the Przewalski’s horses staying at the Slatiňany castle. We applied contraceptives at the females of sea lion as the young male tried mating with them.

In July we cancelled the transport of a mare of Przewalski’s horse to the zoo in Moscow as she had debilitated hooves. The hooves at the fore limbs were more affected. The female of mouse maki broke her left metatarsus. Using the injection needle we managed to stabilise this fracture. However the therapy after the operation took a whole month. At the females of polar bears we had to deal with repeated diarrhoea and we kept finding not digested food in their excrements. We applied Pancreolan forte and antibiotic and the digestion of both bears got back to normal. The cause of these difficulties was induced by the infection of Clostridium perfringens bacteria. At the female elephants Shanti and Gulab, the horn was not of a good quality and they had cleavage on their hooves. We added biotin to their food and applied “Chlumský” solution and a special cream and the problems disappeared.

In August we imported a new bull of European bison from the zoo in Amsterdam. His stay in the quarantine was much longer than we expected. Just the cultural examination finally rejected the suspicion of Para tuberculosis. We did not manage to save any of the little hatched Hadeda ibises. The several-days-old little birds suffered from gout and other metabolic malfunctions. The oldest little bird had the joints of limbs and wings affected and the cultural examination proved Escherichia coli. These finds are considered secondary, as the main problem will probably be in the not compatible parents. At the oldest female of bongo antelope we removed the abscess that reached the size of a head of a baby. At the female of lowland tapir we registered whitish effusion from vagina. At the beginning we applied 2 Betadine suppositories right to the vagina. Later we decided for complex therapy by antibiotics that were selected according to the sensitivity of the cultivated pathogen. In this month we also had to finish the life way of the oldest Przewalski’s horse in the world. The mare Cilka was not able to stand up any more and it was a clear indication for euthanasia.

In August we started the co-operation with the Czech Agricultural University, as we became the veterinary consultants for the breed of Eland antelopes in Lány.  Apart from the oldest Przewalski’s horse, the Prague zoo also kept the oldest night monkey in the world. Its life was finished by a malign tumour of the lungs. Nicobar pigeon was attacked and seriously injured in the common aviary. A great argus was the aggressor. We managed to restore the torn skin of the neck and crop after several tens of minutes and so the pigeon could go back to an exposition but not to the argus. The sudden death of knob-billed comb duck took us by surprise. The post mortem examination revealed a neoplasm on a testicle that got broken and the bird died of bleeding to the bodily cavity. An old female of giant Asian river terrapin did not manage to deal with aeromonade infection that was even complicated by mycosis. The animal had diminished immunity and its role also played the environment in the pools in the Pavilion of Indonesian Jungle. A yellow-bibbed lori had repeatedly swollen eyelids, cere and limbs. The parrot was hospitalised at our colleague. The repeated tests proved that the cause of these changes is allergy. We applied medication locally and changed the structure of the food and managed to stabilise its state.

In the following months we had to deal with more interesting cases. At Javan file snakes there were appearing papulous lesions. It turned out that it was aspergillum mycosis of the skin. We improved the food, adapted the environment and applied medicaments locally and thus we managed to minimise the losses of these snakes. At the male of crocodile monitor shapes similar to warts appeared on his hind limbs.  We caught him regularly and checked the changes. The therapy consisted of strangulating the biggest formations and locally applied medication that prevented further reproduction of the cells. In the autumn a female of Eurasian wolf managed to escape, even repeatedly. The animal was localised in time and immobilised and it did not disturb anyhow the normal operation of the zoological garden. At the female of aardwark, a molar was loosened from her left mandibula. The affected molar was the same that got loose in her right mandibula in 2005. We changed the food dose and applied supportive medication and checked her state regularly. We were not sure of the gender of the little polar bear. The genetic methods failed and so we anaesthetised the bear. The finding that the animal is a female pleased all of us. At the red-tailed laughingthrushes there was a massive infection by coccidium (Isospora). Two individuals died before we managed to deal with the situation therapeutically. The deposited male of orange-winged amazon died of hemosiderosis of liver. The Central American river turtle refused food for more than a month. The complex examination proved obstipation of the intestines. We repeatedly applied irrigation and clysm of physiological solution and paraffin oil and thus we managed to move the peristalsis of the intestines of this turtle. The obstipation was probably caused by the seeds of grapes and skin of kiwi. At the Humboldt’s penguins we had to deal with two serious illnesses this year. These were both infections induced by Pasteurella avium (gallinarum) and Aspergillus fumigatus. Despite intensive therapy we lost three penguins. The infection by Aspergillus fumigatus represented undoubtedly a bigger problem. The dead individuals were in a very good state and in one case it was the oldest bird in the group. We should focus on prophylaxis as the early diagnosis of aspergillum mycosis is much difficult and despite the right therapy the prognosis is quite unsure.

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More articles in ... Annual report 2006

• The economic report
• The public
• Breeding - Introduction
• Breeding - Birds
• Breeding - Mammals (except ungulates)
• Breeding - Mammals (ungulates)
• Breeding - Przewalski´s Horse
• Breeding - CITES Centre
• Breeding - In-situ projects
• Breeding - Reptiles
• Operation and maintenance
• Construction activities
• The staff