Elephants Elephants - Wildpro - Twycross Zoo

measure of improvement in early cases. Severe degenerative joint disease is
an indication for euathansia.
Dislocations generally carry a poor prognosis.
Foot disorders, see under ‘foot care and problems’.
Fractures of the long bones. In juveniles, domestic large animal techniques
can be successful, but the prognosis in adult elephants is very poor. Fractures
and dislocations of the femur/hip can result from awkward falls during
anaesthetic induction or recovery.
Trunk injuries. The trunk has a massive blood supply and thus severe
haemorrhage may result following trauma. Paralysis of the trunk can arise
from motor nerve damage. Loss of part of the trunk can be a serious problem
for an elephant, but some animals adapt better than others.
Trunk paralysis. Partial or complete paralysis of the trunk with consequent
muscle atrophy is occasionally seen in Asian elephants. The cause is
unknown, but cranial nerve trauma or infection and arteriosclerosis have all
been suggested.
Nutritional Problems
Few nutritional problems have been well documented in elephant, but the
following should be borne in mind (and see Section 3.4):
Metabolic bone disease can be seen in handreared juvenile elephants with
characteristic bowing of the long bones of the hind limbs.
Hypocalcaemic tetany has been reported in elephants housed exclusively
indoors with no access to sunlight. Animals that have marginal calcium
reserves may also develop tetany when stressed.
Iron deficiency anaemia is especially likely to occur in young, growing
animals particularly if inadequately supplemented or without access to earth.
Young African elephants fed alfalfa as the major dietary constituent can
develop inward buckling of the tibio-tarsal joints, probably arising from too
rapid a growth rate. This is treated by reducing dietary protein intake
(Schmidt 1986).
Parasitic Disease
Parasitic disease does not play a major role in the veterinary management of
captive elephants in the UK. Intestinal infestations rarely lead to clinical
diarrhoea in the long-term captive animal, although parasite-related disease
may be seen in newly imported stock. Elephants are host to a wide range of
parasites in the wild, and therefore vigilance is necessary especially in newly
imported animals. For a comprehensive list of the helminths of elephants and
their significance, see (Mikota et al 1994) (Basson et al 1971).(Chowdhury and
Aguirre 2001)
Parasitic infestations of elephants include:
• Ascarids, oxyurids, strongylids, paramphistomes, ancylostomes,
sygamids and filarids.
121