nearest local health institution by X-ray examination
and sputum microscopy.
Preliminary data: The 4 different tests used in this
study during the period September–November 2014
had the following seroprevalence TB DPP™ Assay (2%),
ElephantTB Stat Pak® (18%), ELISA (8%) and Elephant
specific interferon–gamma assay (26%) from the 50
elephants that were tested for tuberculosis. Follow-up
testing was done using the eINFg assay on 18 animals
that were test positive in November 2015. The results
showed that 13 of the 18 elephants (72%) tested were
again positive to the eIFN-y assay.
Of the 50 handlers that were tested 6% were found
positive for tuberculosis using sputum microscopy and
x-ray examination.
Endocrine monitoring of reproduction
and stress in wildlife
https://vimeo.com/216806619
André Ganswindt
Endocrine Research Laboratory, Dept. of Anatomy and
Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of
Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Mammal
Research Institute, Dept. of Zoology and Entomology,
University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa;
National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Pretoria,
0001 South Africa; Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Wildlife plays an important role in
maintaining the ecological equilibrium of nature.
Due to progressing global urbanisation, more and
more wild animals are managed to balance the needs
for wildlife with the needs of people. Under these
circumstances, the ability to monitor reproductive
status can greatly facilitate attempts to control wildlife
populations.
More specifically, the ability to monitor key
reproductive events, such as ovulation and pregnancy,
not only find widespread application in the
management of natural breeding, but also provide the
basis for assisted reproductive technologies. Animal
welfare is nowadays also a key issue when managing
wild animals. Especially the avoidance of stress,
defined as a state of perturbed homeostasis, plays an
increasingly important role in wildlife management. As
stress is generally regarded as antipathetic to welfare,
things can get complicated when wildlife encounter
unfamiliar stressors related to restrictive housing
conditions or management interventions, especially
over a prolonged period of time.
Monitoring alterations in hormone concentration
is a precise and widely accepted approach for
examining reproductive function and responses to
stressors. Although hormones can be measured in
various biological matrices, non-invasive methods
have gained popularity as a more practical approach
for assessing ovarian, testicular and, more recently,
adrenocortical activity in especially intractable wildlife
species. By using a series of case studies focussing on
aspects like musth in African elephants, pregnancy
in aardvark, dehorning of white rhinoceroses, or the
effect of urbanization in African lesser bushbabies,
this presentation will underline the importance of
hormone analysis as a valuable tool for monitoring
regulative endocrine mechanisms linked to
reproduction and stress in African wildlife.
2017
MAY
27