2022/04/13, 18:03 - Joel Alves: 2022/04/13, 18:03 - Joel Alves: For interest, we recently darted an adult hippo cow and her young calf. The cow had a long standing cable snare around her mouth. Darted with the concentrated BAM from Wildlife Pharmaceuticals which enabled us to dart both with just a single dart each! Most definitely overdosed both, based on conventional doses but worked exceptionally well and both appeared stable throughout. The blood sample in the picture was an attempt of Ben at the coccygeal artery and colour as well as pressure seemed to indicate it being arterial. Sadly I floundered at the key moment with the EPOC and failed on running the sample (*forgot the login of all things). Cow dart was 3ml of concentrated BAM with 5000IU Hyalase with works out to 180 medetomidine + 450 butorphanol + 180 azaperone. Big dose! Down in 11.5 minutes. Calf couldn’t be pushed off and we darted with 0.5ml of the concentrate, so 60 medetomidine 150 butorphanol and 60 azaperone + 5000IU Hyalase. Down in 6.5 minutes. Reversals were with yohimbine/atipamezole mix in the tongue and naltrexone. The calf was up and off within 18 minutes. Unfortunately, I believe we underestimated how weak the cow was after likely not being able to eat for weeks with the snare around the mouth. She took an extended period of time to rise and at 40 minutes we administer two atipamezole darts into the neck! 15 minutes after that she stood nicely and slowly moved off! Both animals seen together 2 days later. Dan-Inject still in neck likely our biggest failure on this case but we weren’t going to walk up and hand inject. 2022/04/14, 13:02 - Jacques O'Dell: Anyone walked a hippo yet? 2022/04/14, 13:09 - Dave Cooper: In 2000 using 1mg Thianil and azaperone, hippo were roped and blindfolded usually while attacking our old Land Rovers blocking their path to water. They were walked into rhino crates backwards like a horse backing away from a head rope. We lost 2 and captured 7. The Land Rovers were never the same!! 2022/04/14, 14:45 – David Pretorius: I had a hippo awake enough to walk it. Got a video of where we were able to handle it but not optimal.... 2022/04/14, 15:03 - Douw Grobler: The biggest problem is that they become one snotty and slippery animal, and the only place where one can fit a rope is around the upper jaw. I think if one had a chest harness like a dog's chest leash with a quick release on top it can work. 2022/04/14, 15:32 - Henry Labuschagne: Use dystocia chains with a double loop around legs.
