Transport

Boxes for the conveyance of these animals should be narrow, perfectly plain inside, and provided with doors at both ends.

Breeding

Sexual maturity 2-3 years, Breeding season is winter season.Gestation period is 336-375 days. Litter size is single.

Treatment in Sickness

The Zebras are frequently affected with Rheumatism and Laminitis.The former is mainly due to dampness of the floor of their habitation and the later is mainly due to lack of exercise. This condition is treated with non-steriodal anti-inflammatory Inj. Meloxicam @ 0.3 mg/kg which fetches good results.

Apart from this the Zebras are suffering from Contusions, Lacerated/ Punctured wounds and Self-inflicted wounds. For surface wounds, topical antiseptics such as Betadine is used. For deep wounds herbal Spray is used to prevent the attraction of the flies which may lead to Myiasis.

Immobilization

Etorphine hydrochloride (2.45 mg) and Acepromazine maleate (10mg) per animal.

Habitat

Inhabits lush green grassland and drier Savannas of East Africa from Kenya to the cape.

Length of life in captivity

Last up to 15 years in Zoos.

Housing

Consists of well drained, dry situations for their habitation. The prerequisites are-a sheltered shed, a sleeping room and an enclosure as a grazing ground. The floor of the shed and the sleeping room is made of bricks laid on edge, and joints cemented.

Feeding

Wheat bran 2 kgs
Horse gram 1 kg
White Bengal Gram 500 gms
Grass & Leaves 30 kgs
Lucerne 5 kgs
Carrot 500 gms
Cabbage 500 gms
Mineral Mixture 50 gms

Xylazine is the most commonly used for controlling elephants for surgical purposes and for road transport. The animal will be on standing posture even under deep sedation with Xylazine.

Animals are transported either by road or rail. Xylazine Hcl brings desirable changes in animal behavior by reducing aggressiveness. This enables smooth marching, translocation and traveling of the captured elephants.

The Head of the animal should be towards the cabin of the truck and the tail end towards the exit.

Musth

It is a physiological phenomena occurring annually in male. It occurs more regularly in well nourished elephants between the age group of 21 to 80 years.

Average duration of musth is 1 to 2 months. It occurs mostly in cold season. Elephants must be kept alone during musth. Engorgement of temporal glands and discharge from the opening of this gland are the symptoms of musth. More aggressive musth can be managed with drugs like xylazine.

Even the stem of the banana will also help to reduce the musth effect at some extent. This is widely practiced among the elephant owners of Kerala and TamilNadu (States of Tamilnadu)

Feeding schedule for the Indian elephants extremly varies depending upon the region.

In south India, the following feeding schedule has been provided for the elephants:-

Young elephants ( 4-6 yrs old) :-
Ragi                                       3 kgs
Horse gram                              1kg
Salt                                    200 gms
Jaggery                                 250 gms
Grass                                   50 kgs
Sugarcane                               3 Nos.,
Green tree leaves-Bamboo/stylo        50 kgs
Coconut                                 500 gms ( 1 no.,)

Adult elephants:-
Ragi                            7 kgs
Horse gram                  2kgs
Salt                            200 gms
Jaggery                         250 gms
Grass                           200 kgs
Sugarcane                       4 Nos.
Green tree leaves-Bamboo          250 kgs
Coconut                         500 gms ( 1 no.,)

Elephants should be watered twice daily- once in the morning about 8 AM and again about 5 PM.

Habitat:- 

It occurs in the Terai regions of the Himalayas, Assam, Cachar, Burma and Siam, extending southwards to the Malayan peninsula, Elephants also found in southern and central India.

Length of life in captivity:-

                        Lasts up to 100 years ( Life span may be extended depending upon the sixth molar strength). No record of length of life in captivity in the Zoo.

 Housing:-

a)      Provide a stable ( Tethering place) for the elephant in a clean and healthy environment with sufficient shade to keep them during rest period.

b)      Each captive elephant must be ensured a minimum floor area as specified below:- 

             Weaned calf ( Ht below 1.5 metre)                  5 m X  2.5 m

            Sub adult elephant ( Ht., 1.50 mt – 2.25m)        7 m X  3.5 m

            Cow elephant with unweaned calf                     9 m X  5 m

            Adult elephant ( Ht., 2.25 m)                            9 m X  5 m

c)      In case of covered sheds, the height of the structure should not be less than 4.80 metres. Corrugated iron sheets or asbestos sheets should not be used for roofing of elephant stables in hot climates.

d)      The stable should be protected against cold and hot winds.

e)      The floor or the stable should not be wet and uneven.

f)        Elephant should not be made to stand on ground saturated with urine and filth. The  floor of the stable must be treated with suitable disinfectant periodically. Proper arrangement of drainage of excess of water and arrangement for removal of excreta, left over feed item and residual water shall be made.

This is my first blog post. Hope you’ll enjoy your visit here. I spent nearly 3 hours to learn about how to install wordpress for my site. (Thanks to my Brother!!!- a software engineer)

And spent nearly 3 minutes to select this WP theme. This theme grabs me like anything. Immediately downloaded and changed the default theme.

You may ask why I am blogging about wild life. I luv these voiceless creatures, their brave and also their flight-fight mechanism. Last but not least I am a WILD LIFE VET.

I have spent days together in the forest to drive the elephant crowd towards their habitat. Captured and released the leopard into the forest. Rescued lot of lions and tigers from the circus to a real rescue and rehabilitation centres.

So I think it is good enough not only sharing my experience but also discussing some of the tranquilizing methods and treatment of wild animals to the rest of the world wild life vets…

Before discussing the treatment and tranquilizaton of wild animals my few posts would be centered towards the wild life animal behaviour and characterisitics.

Once again I would like to thank you for visiting my wild life world blog!!! Happy surfing!!!