COMPARISON OF THREE SHORT-TERM IMMOBILIZATION REGIMES IN WILD VERREAUX'S SIFAKAS (PROPITHECUS VERREAUXI): KETAMINE-XYLAZINE, KETAMINE-XYLAZINE- ATROPINE, AND TILETAMINE-ZOLAZEPAM

Abstract:  Although research on lemurid primates in Madagascar has been ongoing for several decades, reports on different drug regimes to immobilize wild lemurs are limited. This study compares the efficacy, reliability, and side effects of ketamine–xylazine, ketamine–xylazine–atropine, and tiletamine–zolazepam immobilization in wild Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi). In the course of a long-term study in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar, eight animals each received a mixture of ketamine (5.32 ± 1.71 mg/kg) and xylazine (0.56 ± 0.19 mg/kg) (KX; 7 males, 1 female) and ketamine (6.58 ± 1.36 mg/kg), xylazine (1.28 ± 0.28 mg/kg), and atropine (0.013 ± 0.003 mg/kg) (KXA; 5 males, 3 females), respectively, and 14 individuals received tiletamine–zolazepam (7.73 ± 1.37 mg/kg) (TZ; 9 males, 5 females). Induction was smooth in all protocols, but showed considerable variation in duration when animals had received KXA. Immobilization as well as recovery lasted significantly longer with TZ than with KX (P <...