Standing Sedation in Captive Zebra (Equus grevyi and Equus burchellii)

Abstract:  Nine Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi) and three Burchell's zebras (Equus burchellii) were immobilized in a standing position a total of 70 times for minor, nonpainful procedures over a 9-yr period. Standing sedation was successfully obtained with a combination of detomidine and butorphanol on 47 occasions (67.1%). Detomidine i.m. (median 0.10 mg/kg; range: 0.07–0.21) was administered by dart, followed 10 min later by butorphanol i.m. (median 0.13 mg/kg; range 0.04–0.24). The dosages were varied depending on the initial demeanor of the animal. On 23 occasions (32.9%), small amounts of etorphine (median 2.5 μg/kg; range 1.1–12.3 μg/kg) plus acepromazine (median 10 μg/kg; range 4.4–50 μg/kg) (as in Large Animal–Immobilon) had to be administered i.m. to gain sufficient sedation. In these latter cases, the animals were either excited or known for their aggressive character. The zebras were sufficiently immobilized for the length of most procedures (<45 min) without supplementation. At the end of the pr...