Tora’s Implant

In this blog I’m going to talk about tiger, Tora’s recent contraceptive implant change and general health check. 

So, who is Tora?

Tora is a 5 year old hybrid tiger currently housed at Sandwich Wildlife Park with another tiger Duke. Her implant was due to be changed so I did some training with her to get her ready to be hand injected in the house. 

How did I prepare her?

I made a simple divider which can be slotted through the mesh as a temporary ‘crush’. Then got her used to coming in and laying down in there. 

Using a blunt needle I pressed it to her thigh to get her used to this and worked up to having her lay for a few minutes. 

On the day she did brilliantly and took her position to be hand-injected in the thigh. About 5 minutes after injection we checked on her and she had fallen asleep, time to start the procedure! 

If we ever have to anesthetize an animal we normally take the opportunity to do some general health checks. Here are her lovely teeth which are in great condition.

The contraceptive implant is a small tube which is placed just under the skin, inserted with a needle-like device on her inner thigh. You can see the placement in the small shaved area in her thigh.  

Once we are done she receives a reversal and is put to recover on a nice big bed of blankets. Meanwhile, we leave the enclosure. She woke up quite quickly and began to move around the bedroom. 

Overall the procedure went well and her participation in injection training made it much less stressful for her. The needle in the thigh was barely noticed by her and evidently by how fast she fell asleep, shows she was very relaxed. If an animal is stressed they produce a lot of adrenaline which can work against the sedative. This means they can stay awake for much longer and may even need a second dose in order to fall asleep. 

I’m very proud of her and will be continuing to work with her for other behaviours. Such as conscious bloods draws. 

Source: winghamwildlifepark.co.uk