Naltrexone is used to antagonise etorphine immobilisation, but a safe and effective dose for this purpose has not been objectively determined. Eight domestic goats were immobilised with etorphine (0.07 mg/kg) eight times at ≥13 day intervals. Naltrexone at doses of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/mg etorphine were administered intravenously 17 minutes after etorphine injection. Effectiveness of antagonism was recorded based on recovery and renarcotisation scores and clinical observations. All doses produced rapid recovery to the point of standing (median 59 seconds, range 33-157 seconds), with no significant differences in recovery times (P=0.44). The lower naltrexone doses resulted in renarcotisation in some goats: 4/8 in the 10-mg dose trial, 7/8 in the 5-mg dose trial, and 8/8 in the 2-mg, 1-mg and 0.5-mg dose trials. Lower doses resulted in more severe signs of renarcotisation. Complications of renarcotisation included increased body temperature; this occurred just before signs of renarcotisation and was greater in animals with high renarcotisation scores (P<0.01). The lowest, safest effective naltrexone dose that we used to antagonise etorphine immobilisation was 20 mg/mg etorphine, which produced rapid recovery to standing with no renarcotisation.

In this study, Brucella melitensis infection in sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) was investigated on two wildlife ranches in South Africa over a 12-year period in order to determine the origin of the outbreaks and the role of livestock in maintaining the disease. Retrospective data were obtained from farm records and interviews as well as samples tested from different disease scenarios and clinical settings. On one ranch, 10 of 74 sable tested seropositive for B. melitensis in 2004 but were certified clear of infection after no further brucellosis cases were detected following repeated serological tests and culling over a five-year period. Recrudescence occurred in 2013 (7 of 187 brucellosis positives) and in 2014 (one positive), with persistent, latent infection being the most reasonable explanation. In a second case study, linked to the first one through a common vendor, 15 of 80 sable tested positive in 2016, some five years after the acquisition of the animals from a putative source. Brucella melitensis biovar 1 and/or 3 were isolated from each outbreak on both ranches. Both outbreaks resulted in substantial losses for the owners, arising from testing and culling and significant resource expenditure by the state. The study identified the diagnostic challenges for identifying and resolving disease outbreaks in wildlife, the persistence of B. melitensis in sable, the risks associated with animal movements, and the need for a wildlife-sensitive disease control scheme. Although the actual source of infection could not be identified, the investigation points away from local livestock as a source of ongoing infection while the persistent infection is consistent with the disease circulating within small, ranched populations and being spread through the keeping and trading of high-value animals. The implications of the study findings to disease control in wildlife are discussed.

A 7‐year‐old entire female puma (Puma concolor) presented with a history of regurgitation and diarrhoea of 2 weeks duration. Conventional medical management was initially attempted to alleviate the clinical signs, which were unsuccessful. Oesophagoscopy allowed for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal intussusception (GEI) through the observation of gastric mucosa in the lumen of the distal portion of the oesophagus. The intussusception was reduced using the endoscope, which did not result in resolution because the intussusception recurred within 24 hours. A ventral midline celiotomy was performed, followed by a left‐sided belt loop gastropexy. No postoperative complications related to the surgery were observed. The puma resumed eating within 48 hours following the surgery, and no regurgitation recurred for a period of 24 months following surgery. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first report of GEI in a puma that was successfully resolved.

No abstract

After delivering a single stillborn cub, a 4-year-old, semi-feral, captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) presented at full-term pregnancy with either suspension of labour or uterine inertia and a caesarean section was performed. The cheetah was sedated with 0.0357 mg/kg medetomidine intramuscularly, followed by intravenous induction with propofol to effect and maintenance on isoflurane inhalational anaesthesia. Each cub was administered a total of 0.15 mg atipamezole intramuscularly, in 0.05 mg increments, after delivery. The anaesthetic management of the cheetah focused on selecting anaesthetic drugs that would minimise neonatal drug exposure and ultimately maximise the chances of neonatal viability. Additionally, the drugs administered had to also provide sufficient sedation to ensure personnel safety. Finally, the anaesthesia of the cheetah had to be considered in context of the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy.