WildlifeCampus Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1. Capturing Giraffe

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Debra King
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1 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1 Module # 7 Component # 3 Capturing Large Herbivores Observations in this Module cover animal behaviour under capture situations to help interpret the behavioural patterns seen and to predict each species reaction to the techniques described, particularly their vulnerability to capture stress in each situation. Of interest will be behaviour not generally known to wildlife enthusiasts, unless they are directly involved in capturing. Several books describe the habits and distributions of large mammals in southern Africa. There are, however, additional behavioural traits that are not covered but are nevertheless important when considering capture and translocation. Consequently, this Module deliberately omits general behavioural aspects and concentrates only on those that are important to consider when capturing or culling. One must obviously still have a sound knowledge of the animals general characteristics and behavioural patterns to deal with them successfully. In fact, as a matter of principle, it is important to study any literature on the animal, continually building up one s knowledge to improve capture efficiency. Experience has shown that success in capturing is dependent on one s knowledge of the animal and not necessarily on the best method of capture. Persons without previous experience in this regard are advised to study an animal s general behavioural traits. WildlifeCampus offers a wide range of Ethology of Animal Behaviour Courses, including a series on the Behaviour Guide to African Herbivores, Carnivores and Primates. The animals considered here have not been placed in the usual taxonomic order, but according to size from the largest to the smallest. Proven field-use drug dosages for the capture of these animals are given as a basic guideline. It is accepted that dosage preferences will vary from operator to operator and over time as information is updated.

2 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 2 Introduction Giraffe Capture Giraffes pose special problems during capture, which complicates one s choice of the best method to be employed either darting of individual animals or the plastic bulk boma method. Capture operators differ on which is the best method and, according to reports, over 300 animals have been captured successfully using both methods. In essence, both approaches are efficient, provided certain precautions are adhered to. These require more attention to standard darting procedures and mass capture techniques. The main problem is the long neck of the giraffe, which is not flexible, as one would imagine. Under narcosis, however, it flops around, usually resulting in serious damage to the head if not well supported. The major blood vessels of the neck also have specially adapted valve systems to aid blood flow to the head. This mechanism, combined with greater blood pressure found in the giraffe, is easily upset by drugs that adversely affect blood pressure, especially if the animal is anaesthetised for too long. Darting success is dependent on being properly organised with the right equipment, and on having suitably qualified personnel. The secret lies in being able to revive the animal as soon as it goes down, irrespective of whether the head and shoulder rope has been attached or the eyes have been blindfolded. The darting procedure is similar to that for most animals, although only the immobilising drug M99 is used without any tranquillisers. A high level of M99 is used: 6 8 mg in young adults, increasing to 10 mg in mature males. On top of this, IU of Hyalase made up with saline solution is added to fill up the 3 cc dart to improve drug absorption. This reduces down time considerably to 2 5 minutes. The inclusion of mg of Azaperone in the dart is considered beneficial to provide for smoother immobilisation.

3 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 3 Darting Operation A thorough survey of the area is carried out, checking on the terrain and the animals to be caught. The large giraffe transporter is set up in a convenient place, with the ramp down and the ramp sides set in place (see Module # 12). The canvas top is stretched over the top of these sides with the flap hanging down in front. The giraffe recovery trailer, towed by a reliable vehicle, follows the darting team from a distance, waiting to be called in on radio. The target giraffe is spotted and darted either from the air or from the ground. Depending on the property size, in small game parks this is done by vehicle and on larger properties, by helicopter. As the onset of the drug is observed and the giraffe begins to blunder through obstacles unseeingly, six men three on each end of a stout 20 m rope get ahead of the moving animal, aided by a chase vehicle if necessary. They attempt to place the rope across the animal s path. When the giraffe staggers into it, the rope should catch it against the upper forelegs or chest and the animal should be gradually brought under control.

4 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 4 A shorter rope of 8 m is then circled around the animal to pull its feet together, allowing it to collapse gently. The head is immediately secured and held down, and the antidote quickly given intravenously while the eyes are blindfolded and the ears are blocked using cotton wool. This is achieved by pulling the ears closed over the cotton wool and taping them with masking tape. Then either a face halter specially made for giraffe is put on, or a muslin cloth is bound around the head and taped up so that the animal cannot see. It is important that this be done properly, as even if the giraffe still can see in only one direction, it cannot be walked, thus requiring the animal to be pulled down again to rectify the problem. The antidote M5050, at 2,5 times the dose of Etorphine, must be given immediately even if the blindfold has not been completed. This is because the giraffe, even an adult one, is easily held down on its side, with one man holding the head and another simply placing pressure on the shoulder so that the animal is unable to roll onto its sternum and get up. Even a fully reversed animal will flail about for a few moments but will settle and accept its predicament. A head rope is placed on its head and taped to maintain its position. A large stout rope is then looped around the lower neck and held from either side, allowing the animal to get up unaided. Sometimes, depending on how long the animal has spent lying down, it becomes reluctant to stand and requires some coaxing to get up.

5 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 5 While the animal is being attended to and the drug reversed, the giraffe recovery trailer is positioned in front of the animal. Either two ropes or two guide poles are pulled out on either side of the door so as to guide the blind and deaf animal into it. Once the giraffe gets up, it is coaxed forward gently by tapping its hooves with a short length of rope whilst guiding it with the neck rope, gently pulling from either side. One person provides direction, while persons on one side relax tension on the rope and persons on the other side pull gently. Under no account should the head rope be used, as pulling on it simply results in the animal fighting the attempt by pulling back against the rope. The giraffe seldom moves up the ramp of the recovery trailer the first time, but rather several attempts are made until it finally goes up. Each time the attempt fails, the animal must be led around in a loop and repositioned in front of the ramp again. In fact, the giraffe may be led for some distance in this way, even several kilometres, with difficulty at first until it settles down to a rhythm. The guide ropes from the trailer are looped behind the animal once it enters the trailer, and are used to pull it up onto the ramp sufficiently to close the rear door behind it.

6 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 6 The giraffe is then slowly transported directly to the pens or to the mass crate where it is loaded. A rope noose can also be used, fitted with a knot strategically tied into it some distance down its length. A D shackle is fitted at the end, placed over the rope beyond the knot to prevent the rope from tightening and strangling the animal. This is placed around the neck of the giraffe to help pull it into the crate. At the mass crate, the recovery trailer is parked in front of the mass crate s ramp and unhitched, and the extension legs are dropped to stabilise the trailer. The chase vehicle goes around, moves in behind the recovery trailer, and hitches to its rear via a hook in front of the vehicle. The chase vehicle pushes the trailer partly up the ramp. The upper two front doors of the ramp are opened against the sides of the mass crate s ramp, and the lower door is dropped to cover the recovery trailer s hitch to provide a platform for the giraffe to step out onto. The canvas top is dropped behind the giraffe and the cross-bolt pulled out. The giraffe moves forward into the mass crate, whereupon the slide door is closed. The blindfold and earplugs are removed, the animal is tranquillised and moved to the adjacent partition. A combination of 6 8 mg of Haloperidol and 80 mg of Trilafon is given to each animal. It is extremely important not to exceed the Haloperidol dose, as the animal may collapse during transport, thereby causing the collapse of others. Additional giraffe are darted and transferred to the mass crate until the required number has been caught and the entire group is transported to its final destination. Should the capture need to be completed the following day, the animals caught on the first day can safely stay the night in the crate, but they should be tranquillised. The method is particularly effective for sub-adult giraffe, although adult giraffe may also be darted in this manner.

7 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 7 Mass Capture of Giraffe The most effective method for capturing several animals is to use the conventional plastic boma. The top cables supporting the main gate and internal gates, however, are placed considerably higher, out of reach of the animals. Conventional plastic is used on the main gate, even though it is off the ground near the support positions in the closed position. Along the side, beyond the first gate right up to the ramp, wider plastic of 4 m is used, stretched to full height so that the animals are unable to look out. Normally, fewer gates are employed and from beyond the second gate, the wider plastic is used for the gates. Preferably only younger animals are caught. These must first be separated from large adult cows and particularly bulls before pushing them into the boma. This part of the process can be time-consuming, requiring considerable skill and experience on the part of the pilot to chase the adults away whilst keeping the juveniles together. Once the animals enter the boma, however, capture is relatively simple and proceeds in much the same way as for other animals. Nevertheless, care must be taken not to get too close to the giraffes, should they run past, as they are likely to kick out at people. Often when giraffes need to be caught, there are other species also to be caught through the same boma. In this case, only the top cables on the main gate need to be changed and the conventional ramp be placed back in position. The same final crush is used, with a few modifications as follows: the internal cross-members are removed, although the internal slide doors remain as conventionally used and the sides of the crush are reinforced from the outside to provide additional support as for the capture of buffalo. Short cables are hung well above each side, from which plastic is hung so that the giraffe cannot look out this is the same procedure adopted for eland, waterbuck, kudu and impala. The conventional ramp is withdrawn and replaced with the large giraffe transporter set in position, with its own ramp down and ramp sides set up. These two systems can be quickly interchanged, depending on capture demand at the time.

8 Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 8 General Observations It is important that correct equipment be used to transport giraffes. Where other transport is considered, the operator must ensure that the sides of the crate in which the animals are to be transported are sufficiently high in front to prevent the animals from looking out. Solid sides up to the shoulders are preferred, with an additional steel frame above to support tarpaulins hung down to prevent the animals from looking out. The final height of the crate top necessary to achieve this, however, may present a problem during transportation, fouling up on trees and telephone lines, for example. Ideally, therefore, a low-bed truck should be used instead of a standard vehicle with a 1,3 1,6 m high bed. During transportation, telephone lines must be observed well beforehand. It is advisable to have someone in a vehicle in front checking for this, as well as somebody in the truck cab to stop the driver and lift the wires over the crate. The vehicle in front either stops and waits at each telephone wire observed, or drops something easily observable by the truck driver, like flour or mealie meal, in the middle of the road 100 m before the wire. Particular care must be taken with regard to the bed of the truck to ensure that the animals do not slip during transit, because should they go down they seldom stand again. Giraffes are best caught in the late winter or early summer when the trees have flushed and the animals have returned to peak condition. Where possible, avoid capturing the animals in ambient temperatures exceeding 25 C. In release bomas and pens for quarantine purposes, the wall of the boma must be at full height and blanked off using thatch or hessian. Water should be provided in a circular trough in the middle of the boma, and food provided in troughs at head height near the boma wall. Branches of browse can be hung from platforms within the boma or from the wall itself. Shade must be provided and where it does not occur naturally, provide artificial shade to one side of the boma at the full height of 4 m. Animals in pens must also be tranquillised to prevent them from pacing up and down.

WildlifeCampus Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1. Boma Management

WildlifeCampus Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1. Boma Management Capture, Care & Management of Wildlife 1 Module # 13 Component # 4 Introduction In this Component, the management of both release bomas and complex pen systems is discussed at length. Day-to-day management,