Animal health at Granby Zoo is the anaesthesia of dozens of animals each year for a preventive examination that includes brushing teeth, palpating organs, examining skin, taking blood samples etc. The veterinary, assisted by her team, also establishes the diet of 1,000 residents and cares for the sick animals.
Veterinary hospital
Curative care
Preventive care
The Veterinary Hospital
The veterinary hospital, named Centre de soins et de conservation (Care and Conservation Centre) includes an operating room, a laboratory, a pharmacy, an autopsy room and an x-ray room. Each room is equipped with specialized equipments. Dr. Marie-Josée Limoges, the veterinarian and Rock Boily, the veterinary technician, have their offices within this hospital.
The Operating Room
What a funny looking table! What are these machines used for? How can you take an animal’s pulse? Grab your scalpels! Ready? Let’s explore the Zoo’s operating room!
First, let’s place the animal on the operating table. This is where the veterinarian conducts the examinations, the treatments and the operations. This table is adjustable and can tilt so that the animal and the veterinarian are comfortable. The pail hanging under the table is used to collect liquids such as urine and water, while the examination lamp overhead allows for proper lighting of the examined area.
At one end of the room rests the anaesthesia equipment and its accessories. Connected to a compressed oxygen bottle, the equipment controls the air volume that the animal inhales and the debit of an anaesthetic such as isoflurane. This product has several advantages. It is a volatile gas more easily controlled than an injectable anaesthetic. It is less harmful and the animals wake up sooner.
During the surgery, the saturometer continuously monitors the animal’s pulse and the oxygen saturation. This equipment is vital as it quickly indicates any decrease of oxygen in the blood.
The electrocardiogram records the electric waves generated by heart activity (heartbeats). This is how any anomaly or cardiac arrest is detected.
Granby Zoo takes great care of its animals. If the veterinary embarks on a lengthy surgery or operates on an animal that is sensitive to heat loss, she uses a warming carpet designed for animals. This is a simple carpet in which heated water circulates. A simple idea put to good use!
In case of respiratory problems, the reanimator is what you reach for. It is the equivalent of artificial breathing except that you don’t have to blow in air or do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the animal. It is actually a hand pump equipped with a mask that regulates the flow of air.
The Pharmacy
No need to show a prescription to the pharmacist if you’re a zebra! The veterinarian prescribes the medication, the veterinary technician prepares it, and it is then administered to the animals by the keepers.
The Zoo’s pharmacy is divided into several sections. The first contains tools to inject medication, vaccinate or anaesthetize. The second contains anaesthetics, various antibiotics for general and specific uses as well as fungicides to fight fungal infections.
It is interesting to note that most of this medication can be found at the corner drugstore. For example, Nizoral is used to destroy fungi, Amoxil to cure ear infections. Pharmaceutical companies provide the same products to veterinarians. They sometimes market a product under another name for animals but it is the same medication prescribed by a doctor for humans.
The third section stores the material needed for blood collection; everything necessary to this end during surgery can be found here. Lastly, there is the mobile pharmacy, an on-site intervention kit. It does not contain any medication however. The veterinarian brings the necessary products as needed.
Drugs : Caution, Danger!
Animal anaesthetics are dangerous for humans! They are powerful drugs that must be handled with care. Carfentanil for example is 10,000 times stronger than human anaesthetics. This product is usually administered to the larger members of the Cervidae family. The veterinarian has to keep precise logs. Each drop of administered product must be traceable. It’s a question of safety!
X-Ray Room
Why is this leopard limping? What caused the swelling in this frog’s leg? At times, an x-ray is the only way to confirm the veterinarian’s diagnostic.
In large doses, rays emitted by the x-ray machine are fatal. As the veterinarian and the technician take several x-rays in a year, they must protect themselves.
When the animal is anaesthetized, it is brought into the room, the x-ray machine is adjusted, everyone leaves and the machine is activated at a distance.
If the animal is awake and must be immobilised, our two specialists put on protective clothing that blocks the radiation: an apron, gloves and a thyroid protector, all made of lead. Fortunately, the radiations don’t last long. A lead outfit is very heavy! During the x-ray, anyone present must stand behind a protective screen.
The Hospitalisation Room
After surgery, small animals needing special care are brought to the hospitalisation room. It makes it easier to administer medication, redo a bandage and avoid wound infections. In a clean location, uncontaminated by other individuals, bacteria will not be able to reproduce and endanger the animal. Furthermore, a wounded and defenceless animal might be attacked by its peers. By isolating it, it has a better chance to heal.
The Necropsy Room
Animals die at the Zoo due to illnesses, wounds or old age. When a death occurs, the veterinary and her assistant try to determine the cause by practicing an autopsy.
They first do a visual examination of the remains and all its parts. Are there exterior lesions? This could give a clue as to the cause. They note anything unusual. They then retrieve portions of tissue that seem abnormal and immerse them in formalin. They then send the retrieved organs away to specialised laboratories to have them analysed.
They also read the keeper’s post-mortem:
- The environment where the animal was found.
- The animal’s identification number and the rest of the group’s information.
- The animal’s diet. Was it eating well?
- Observations on difficulties and abnormal signs.
- Was the animal being treated? Had he responded well to treatment?
This research on the cause of an animal’s death is very important. If the autopsy results show the presence of a contagious illness, of an unusual object or anything else, the animal health staff will have to act quickly to correct the problem.
The Carcasses
What is done with the carcasses of dead animals? Are they buried? The answer is: very rarely! They are stored in the morgue refrigerator and a specialized company retrieves them. This government-accredited company disposes of the remains within specific norms and regulations.
It happens that some parts are kept for educational purposes. Thus, visitors can touch a skin, a feather, a wing, a skull, etc. Other parts are kept in a blend of alcohol, formalin and glycerine and are referred to if other similar cases arise. Finally, specific parts are sent to research institutions. Who knows, medication might be discovered thanks to their investigations?
Curative Care
Granby Zoo animals are under the continuous observation of their keepers. Every morning, 365 days a year, they verify their assigned sectors to make sure their pensioners had a good night and are in good health. Despite their great care, it might happen that the veterinarian needs to make an emergency intervention to treat an animal. Here is a good example.
Preventive Care
Prevention before anything else!
Granby Zoo’s veterinarian, Dr. Marie-Josée Limoges, not only care for sick and hurt animals, but first and foremost, she practices prevention. For example, as soon as an animal arrives at the Zoo, it is put into isolation in the quarantine building while it undergoes assorted medical tests. Feces are collected, blood is taken, and the animal is vaccinated and dewormed. This preventive care will permit the verification of the animal’s health and thus avoid potential contamination of the rest of the livestock.
The Annual Examination
Every year, in winter, the veterinarian proceeds with a general examination of all of the Zoo’s large animals. In turn, they are anaesthetized and given their routine tests.
While the animal is sleeping, it is transported to the clinic and weighed. Blood is then collected, the ears and eyes are examined, and the heartbeat is checked. The veterinary takes this opportunity to clean the animal’s teeth with dental instruments similar to those used by a dentist. All the test results are noted in the animal’s file.
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