Case 10 – 21st February 2023

Elephant Natural Causes Serena Airstrip, Mara Triangle

Rangers on patrol spotted a young female elephant with a swollen left hindlimb.

Immobilisation, examination and treatment

The calf was found with its mother and other members of its elephant family. The calf was lagging behind, but its mother was keeping a keen eye on it. The mother and calf were darted with 20 mgs Etorphine and 3.5 mgs Etorphine respectively. The calf’s mother went down on left lateral recumbency while the calf went down on right lateral recumbency. Each animal’s ear was used as a blindfold No crepitation was felt upon manual manipulation of the swollen left hindlimb particularly around the stifle joint where swelling was more pronounced. It was suspected that the calf either suffered a soft tissue injury around the knee joint, a greenstick fracture, or a sprain on the limb while navigating rough terrain. The injury seemed to be at least a week old since the limb had shortened. 3,000 mgs Amoxicillin and 750 mgs Flunixin meglumine were injected intramuscularly while 40 mgs Dexamethasone was administered intravenously and intramuscularly. The calf was revived first with 12 mgs Diprenorphine injected via the ear vein. It moved towards the herd 4 minutes later. The mother was revived with 60 mgs Diprenorphine 3 minutes later and reunited with the calf.

Prognosis

The calf has a guarded prognosis since ambulation is compromised A review is scheduled after 7-10 days.