ElephantsAfrican and Asian

By Heather Martin

Background info• Mammal• Herbivore• Largest land animals alive today• Gestation period is 22 months, the longest of

any land animal• May live as long as 70 years• Symbols of Wisdom in Asian Cultures• Excellent sense of hearing and smell• Highly intelligent, never forgets• Extremely Social

• Eat 150-200 lb hay, 30-50 gallons of water on a daily basis

• Asian Average Height- 10 ft• Weight – males, 10,000 –

12,000 lbs , females 8,000-10,000 lbs

• African Average Height- 10.5, up to 13 ft

• Weight – males, up to 15,000 lbs, females – up to 10,000 lbs

Asian vs African• Smaller ears

• Typically only males have external tusks

• Have been on the endangered species list for 29 years

• Found in parts of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia

• Larger ears

• Both male and female have external tusks

• Typically less hairy

• Found in Africa

• Not as easily domesticated

Asian ElephantsElephas Maximus

African ElephantsLoxodonta africana

The Trunk• 150,000 muscles• Uses – to smell, pick up

food or objects, suck up water to blow into its mouth, spray liquid onto back to cool itself, protection from flies, and greeting one another

• Extremely powerful and agile

Elephant foot care• Because elephants walk on their toes

they require a lot of care and maintenance

• The toenail is an extension of their finger bones and grow continuously throughout their life

• Elephants in captivity are prone to foot problems

• Including cracks or small fractures in the nail which can lead to a bad infection

• The nail should be filed short to prevent from cracking under the weight of the elephant

Signs of illness in elephants• Listless, decreased movement, unusual behavior,

exercise intolerance • Dull or sunken eyes, increased tear flow• Discharge from the trunk, coughing, abnormal

respiratory sounds • Weight loss, sunken abdomen, prominent ribs • Decreased appetite, anorexia • Change in urine or feces (amount, color); straining • Lameness • Obvious pain • Any unusual swelling or protrusion

Common Illness in elephants

• Rabies• TB• Tetanus• Salmononellosis• Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV)• Encephalomycarditis (EMC, EMCV)

TB• typically infected with the human strain• transmission from human to elephant or

elephant to elephant • Asian and African elephants susceptible • chronic, progressive, debilitating disease • Expensive to manage• Diagnosis - isolation of organism by

culture, trunk wash technique

Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV)• This herpes virus is found in skin papillomas and vulvar lymphoid patches• Mainly found in young elephants• Found in wild/captive African Elephants• Fatal for Asian Elephants• Diagnosis- serological test

Encephalomyocarditis (EMC, EMCV)• Both Asian and African susceptible

• Antemortem diagnosis rare due to rapid clinical course

Some Drugs Used in Elephants

• Anesthetic agents– Barbiturates – Pentobarbitol, Thiopental– Inhalents – Isoflurane, Halothane– Miscellaneous – Ketamine, Xylazine

• Anticholinergics

- Atropine, Glycopyrrolate

Medication techniques- ORAL• Gustatory (smell) sense is well developed, known

for refusal of oral medications• Can simply mix in their food to disguise, like

sweets such as chocolate• Bite blocks can be used, but elephant must be

trained to use • The elephant should open the mouth to accept the

block and let it stay there until you take it out. 

Medication techniques- INJECTION

• Despite their large size and thick skin, elephants are quite sensitive to injections

• Can use elephant restraint device or squeeze to restrain while giving injections

• If there isn’t any device available, for the humans safety, the elephant should be laying down, in this position the elephant cannot react as quickly

• In field situations, ropes are used and elephants may be tethered to trees to restrict movement

• Subcutaneous route is not recommended, absorption from SQ tissues has not been studied and is questionable

Intramuscular• Pole syringes (jabstick) can be

used for remote injection• Remote projectors or darts

may be used for the more dangerous elephant

• 18 gauge needles used• May need to be 2-3 inches

long, depending on injection site

Intravenous• Auricular – most accessible, will dilate in warm

weather and constrict in colder weather

– Place in lateral recumbency

– Apply warm heat to encourage vasodilation

• Cephalic – on proximal medial forelimb is prominent

– can be accessed with the elephant standing

– places operator at risk from head and trunk movements

• Sapheous - on the lower medial aspect of the hindleg

- with the elephant standing, in a stretched position, or in lateral recumbency

- vein is deeper than it appears

Works Cited• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/

mammals/asian-elephant.html?nav=A-Z• http://www.elephantcare.org/datamenu.htm• http://elephantcare.com/default.aspx?id=5062• http://desearch.nal.usda.gov/cgi-bin/dexpldcgi?

qry2103469079;3