Maaike de Schepper, [29 Sep 2022 at 17:59:42]: Good evening all, any advice on chemically immobilising hippo (a bull, a cow and an approx 3 month old calf)? From preferred darts/needles (and length) and drug combinations. David Pretorius, [29 Sep 2022 at 18:44:39]: BAM is the preferred choice when darting. But why not passive capture? Seems like a lot of animals to dart at once. Needles 3" screw-in with 3-5cc dart. Placement anything almost sticking out. Lips is a good option or side of neck behind ears. Motsumi darts will go through the toughest part. If you have a Dan-inject rifle, don't use anything under 10-12 bars even close-up. .22 fired, use a green 4+ Butorphanol 150-300 mg, azaperone 120 mg, medetomidine 100-150 mg But chat to Chris and Cobus about using concentrated BAM because you can fit it into a single dart. Once the are sedated enough you can pull them by the tail using a very thin 4mm nylon rope. At the edge place them on a conveyor and pull them out. Or even better. Reverse the trailer or submerge the container in the water. Slide the hippo in... If you can place a strap around the mouth do so asap for safety. Once in the trailer atipamezole and naltrexone.
