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PubMed1996

Skeletal muscle characteristics of racing reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

Samples from the middle gluteal muscle of 3-7-year-old racing reindeer were taken before (7 reindeer) and at the end of the racing season (12 reindeer) for determination of fibre type composition, activities of citrate synthase (CS), 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (HAD) and the glycogen content. Muscle samples were also taken from 7 female and 18 male reindeer of same age for histochemical determination of muscle fibre composition. During the racing season the fibre type composition remained unchanged as did the activities of CS and HAD. The high activities of CS and HAD together with the high intensity in the NADH-dehydrogenase stain indicate that the reindeer muscle has a high oxidative capacity. The glycogen content increased during the winter which can explain the increasing tendency in the transverse fibre area. The racing reindeer had a lower percentage of type I fibres and a higher percentage of type IIA fibres than the ordinary male reindeer. The differences in the fibre type composition suggest that the racing reindeer represent a selected reindeer population.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

A note on mercury levels in the hair of Alaskan reindeer.

Reindeer, as terrestrial herbivores, generally have low levels of Hg, but monitoring Hg levels can help in understanding ecological toxicity related to a changing environment. In this study, Alaskan reindeer were analyzed for total mercury (THg) in their hair. Both free-ranging reindeer from the Seward Peninsula, Alaska and reindeer fed a pollock-based fishmeal diet were surveyed. Free ranging reindeer had mean THg levels of (55.3 ng/g; n=5). The mean MeHg level in the free ranging reindeer was 45.5 (ng/g; n=5) or 79% of the THg level. The mean level for THg in the fishmeal fed reindeer was 19 ng/g (n=10). Younger reindeer (2 years of age or less) showed lower levels (0.8 ng/g, n=2) compared to adult reindeer (30.8 ng/g, n=6).

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Antibody responses in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) infected with Mycobacterium bovis.

Despite having a very low incidence of disease, reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are subject to tuberculosis (TB) testing requirements for interstate shipment and herd accreditation in the United States. Improved TB tests are desperately needed, as many reindeer are falsely classified as reactors by current testing procedures. Sera collected sequentially from 11 (experimentally) Mycobacterium bovis-infected reindeer and 4 noninfected reindeer were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunoblotting, and multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA) for antibody specific to M. bovis antigens. Specific antibody was detected as early as 4 weeks after challenge with M. bovis. By MAPIA, sera were tested with 12 native and recombinant antigens, which were used to coat nitrocellulose. All M. bovis-infected reindeer developed responses to MPB83 and a fusion protein, Acr1/MPB83, and 9/11 had responses to MPB70. Other antigens less commonly recognized included MPB59, ESAT-6, and CFP10. Administration of purified protein derivatives for skin testing boosted serum antibody responses, as detected by each of the assays. Of the noninfected reindeer, 2/4 had responses that were detectable immediately following skin testing, which correlated with pathological findings (i.e., presence of granulomatous lesions yet the absence of acid-fast bacteria). The levels of specific antibody produced by infected reindeer appeared to be associated with disease progression but not with cell-mediated immunity. These findings indicate that M. bovis infection of reindeer elicits an antibody response to multiple antigens that can be boosted by skin testing. Serological tests using carefully selected specific antigens have potential for early detection of infections in reindeer.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

IgE cross reactivity between reindeer and bovine milk beta-lactoglobulins in cow's milk allergic patients.

BACKGROUND: Allergic reactions to cow's milk are common in small children. One of the main protein allergens found in cow's milk is beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg). Reindeer and bovine milk both contain related beta-Lg proteins, but the allergenicity of reindeer beta-Lg has not previously been studied. The purpose of this study was to analyze the immunological cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies from children with cow's milk allergy to reindeer and bovine beta-Lg. METHODS: Sera from 17 children and a serum pool of 4 patients with elevated cow's milk-specific IgE were investigated. Beta-Lg from bovine and reindeer milk was isolated in native form and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent inhibition assay was developed. Bovine beta-Lg was used as a capturing antigen and the inhibiting effects of reindeer and bovine beta-Lg on the IgE binding were measured. RESULTS: Cross-reactivity patterns of bovine milk beta-Lg specific IgE to reindeer beta-Lg varied among patients. In general, reindeer beta-Lg showed significantly lower inhibition (mean 43%) of IgE binding to the capturing antigen than did bovine beta-Lg (mean 89%). In some patients, even high concentrations of reindeer beta-Lg only partly eliminated the IgE binding to bovine beta-Lg. CONCLUSIONS: The partial cross-reactivity of human anti-bovine IgE with reindeer beta-Lg suggests that it lacks important bovine epitopes and those that are recognized are only weakly bound.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Activity and heart rate in semi-domesticated reindeer during adaptation to emergency feeding.

Although reindeer are well adapted to limited food resources during winter, semi-domesticated reindeer are regularly fed when snow conditions are bad in order to prevent starvation. Feeding sometimes results in health problems and loss of animals. This study was made to assess if activity pattern in reindeer could be used as a tool for the reindeer herder in early detection of animals that are not adapting to feeding. The frequency of 10 behavioural categories was recorded in five groups of penned, eight-month-old, female semi-domesticated reindeer. Three reindeer per group were fitted with heart rate monitors. Lying was the most frequent behaviour, whilst there were few cases of agonistic behaviour. Heart rate varied during the day, with peaks during feeding and low heart rates in the early morning. Restricted feed intake resulted in more locomotion and seeking but less ruminating compared to feeding ad libitum. This was followed by a generally lower heart rate in reindeer in the restricted groups compared to controls. Subsequent feeding with different combinations of lichens, silage and pellets ad libitum resulted initially in significantly more of the animals lying curled up, compared to controls, combined with increased heart rates. As the experiment continued the general activity pattern, as well as the heart rate, gradually became more similar in all groups. Lying curled was the behavioural indicator most consistently affected by feed deprivation and adaptation to feeding and may thus be a useful indicator to distinguish individual reindeer that are not adjusting to feeding.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed2006

Antigen-specific proliferation and activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Mycobacterium bovis-infected reindeer.

To evaluate antigen-specific proliferative and activation-associated responses from Mycobacterium bovis-infected reindeer, blood mononuclear cells from M. bovis- (n = 10) and non-infected reindeer (n = 4) were stimulated with a recombinant early secretory antigenic target-6 and culture filtrate protein-10 fusion protein (rESAT6:CFP10), M. bovis purified protein derivative, pokeweed mitogen, or medium alone and evaluated by flow cytometry using dye tracker analysis and cell surface marker staining. gammadelta TCR+ and CD8+ cells, but not CD4+ cells, from M. bovis-infected reindeer proliferated in response to specific antigen stimulation. Expression (i.e., mean fluorescence intensity) of CD44 was increased and CD62L decreased on proliferative as compared to non-proliferative fractions in antigen- and mitogen-stimulated cultures. In response rESAT6:CFP10 stimulation, MHC II fluorescence intensity was increased on CD4+, gammadelta TCR+, CD172a+, and IgM+ cells from infected reindeer as compared to that of non-stimulated cells from the same reindeer. Recombinant ESAT6:CFP10 stimulation also induced expansion of a CD172a+, MHC II+ population within mononuclear cell cultures from M. bovis-infected reindeer. Despite a moderate challenge dose and extended duration of incubation, experimental infection of reindeer was generally limited to lymph nodes draining the inoculation site, suggestive of host resistance to progressive disease. Present in vitro findings, therefore, may be predictive of host responses by reindeer that limit progression to disseminated disease.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Dynamics of radionuclide concentrations in calcified tissues of reindeer in the western Russian Arctic.

The specific activities of artificial and natural nuclides were determined in bone and teeth of reindeer that had lived before, during, and after nuclear tests on the Archipelago Novaya Zemlya and of reindeer from the nearby mainland region. In bone of reindeer from Novaya Zemlya, 90Sr and 210Pb are the main source of beta-activity, the 210Po is the main source of the alpha activity. In bone of reindeer that lived on Novaya Zemlya during underground tests, the 90Sr activity was relatively high (0.75 +/- 0.20 Bq/g dry weight). In animals that lived after the tests were banned, the level was significantly lower (0.44 +/- 0.17 Bq/g) and did not differ from the level of the 90Sr activity found in the mainland reindeer bone. On Novaya Zemlya, the concentrations of the natural 210Pb in bone of the recent reindeer (0.57 +/- 0.19 Bq/g) is similar to that which was in the teeth of reindeer a hundred years ago (0.65-0.75 Bq/g) and significantly higher than in the recent mainland reindeer from different regions (0.18-0.17 Bq/g).

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effect of origin of radiocaesium on the transfer from fallout to reindeer meat.

Data on radiocaesium contamination of reindeer from five regions in Sweden have been used, together with interpolated radiocaesium deposition data, to quantify spatial variation in transfer to reindeer meat and to consider how it changes with time in different areas. Since the regions were contaminated to different extents by global and Chernobyl fallout, it was also possible to determine the influence of the origin or age of radiocaesium fallout on the transfer to reindeer meat. The regions differed significantly with regard to transfer of radiocaesium to reindeer meat. In two regions in the North of Sweden, where there was less Chernobyl 137Cs, aggregated transfer coefficients (Tag), estimated for the main slaughter period in the first year after the Chernobyl fallout, were low (0.15 and 0.36 m2 kg(-1) in January-April). Average Tag values calculated for the winter period (January-April) in two regions in the middle of Sweden, where deposition from Chernobyl dominated (83 and 94%, respectively, of the total deposition), were 0.78 and 0.84 m2 kg(-1), respectively with a maximum Tag for an individual reindeer of 1.87 m2 kg(-1). There was a threefold increase in Tag values from early autumn to late winter reflecting the change in the reindeer diet from less contaminated vascular plants to more contaminated lichens. The decline of 137Cs in reindeer meat from 1986 to 2000 differed between regions with longer effective half-lives (Tef) in the northerly regions (11.0 and 7.1 years, respectively) with less Chernobyl fallout, and shorter half-lives in the other three regions (3.5-3.8 years). This observation, together with a lack of a decline in early autumn in the region with least Chernobyl fallout, supports the theory of a gradual, but reversible, fixation of radiocaesium in the soil over the mid-long term. The results suggest that both the extent of transfer of 137Cs to reindeer meat, and its subsequent decline with time, are affected by the differing origins of radiocaesium and that previous contamination may substantially influence radiocaesium transfer in the event of a further accident.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Reindeer bull introduction affects the onset of the breeding season.

Reindeer are seasonally polyestrus, short day breeders, with estrous cycles of approximately 20 days in length. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of reindeer bull exposure on the onset of the reindeer cow breeding season and to investigate whether cows with calving experience responded differently than cows with no previous reproductive experience. During year 1, blood samples were collected weekly beginning 14 July and continuing until 15 September (n = 8) or 30 September (n = 8) in order to determine the onset of the breeding season, based on ovarian function, with no bull present. Plasma was stored frozen for later assay of progesterone (P(4)) following the conclusion of sample collection. Eight randomly selected cows were allowed to breed with a bull during year 1. The mean onset of ovarian activity in the first year was 15 September (range: 8-29 September). The bull was removed from cows more than 2 months prior to the start of the experimental period during year 2 and housed at a separate facility approximately 2 km distant. Blood samples were collected during year 2 from 14 cows 3x weekly beginning on 11 August (day 1) and continuing until 29 September (day 50) and plasma was stored frozen for later assay of P(4) following the conclusion of sample collection. On day 6, cows were divided into two groups such that group 1 (early bull exposure; EBE), consisted of four cows that had calved the previous spring and four cows that had no reproductive experience (n = 8). Group 2 (late bull exposure; LBE), consisted of three cows that had calved the previous spring and three cows that had no reproductive experience (n = 6). EBE experienced bull introduction on day 13, 23 days earlier than the average onset of ovarian activity during year 1. LBE experienced bull introduction on day 46, 10 days later than the average onset of ovarian activity during year 1. Progesterone concentrations were analyzed by ANOVA procedures for repeated measures. Bull presence was not requisite for the onset of ovarian activity during either year. Previous reproductive status had no effect on the onset of ovarian activity within EBE (P = 0.61) or within LBE (P = 0.92). Time of bull introduction had a significant effect on the onset of ovarian activity when EBE was compared to LBE (P<0.001). The first sustained increase in mean P(4) concentration above 1 ng/ml occurred on day 25 in EBE reindeer and day 41 in LBE reindeer. EBE reindeer initiated ovarian activity 12 days after bull introduction while LBE reindeer initiated ovarian activity 5 days before bull introduction. All cows penned with the bull conceived during both breeding seasons, demonstrated by production of live calves during the subsequent spring. Cows bred during year 1 all calved within a 9 day-period. During year 2, EBE displayed a more synchronous calving period compared to LBE (P<0.05). Results indicate that bull management affects the onset of the breeding season in reindeer cows, regardless of previous reproductive experience.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite DNA variation in domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and relationships with wild caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti, Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, and Rangifer tarandus caribou).

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Alaska are semidomestic livestock descended from 1280 animals introduced from Siberia, Russia, approximately 100 years ago. Genetic variation at 18 microsatellite DNA loci and the cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was quantified in reindeer from Alaska, Siberia (Russia), and Scandinavia and compared with wild North American caribou. Mean sequence divergence among 15 mtDNA haplotypes in reindeer was 0.007 substitutions per nucleotide site, and reindeer mtDNA is polyphyletic with caribou mtDNA. Microsatellite allele and mtDNA haplotype frequencies are similar between Alaskan and Russian reindeer and differentiated between these and Scandinavian reindeer. The frequencies of microsatellite alleles and mtDNA haplotypes are different in reindeer and wild caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti, Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, and Rangifer tarandus caribou). Alaskan reindeer have maintained a genetic variation comparable to that in Russia and differentiated from that of wild caribou, >100 years after their introduction to Alaska.

Alaska↗
PubMed2006

Changes in reindeer herding work and their effect on occupational accidents.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to investigate the risk of occupational accidents in reindeer herding work in the long run, and to find out if the changes of work processes caused by joining the European Union in 1995 can be seen in accident statistics. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The information on reindeer herders' occupational accidents was obtained from the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution. The development of accidents, reindeer herders and handled animals was studied in 1991-2004. The work phase and contact-mode of the compensated accidents during the periods of 1991-1994 (N = 514) and 2001-2004 (N = 411) were compared. RESULTS: About 100 accidents of reindeer herders are compensated by the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution annually. The number of accidents much better with the number of reindeer handled than with that of insured reindeer herders. The changes in work processes could be seen as trends in the classification of accidents, but the differences were not statistically significant. In feeding tasks, both on the terrain and on farms, accidents had slightly increased, whereas in slaughtering they had decreased. Reindeer-caused accidents are now a bit more frequent than earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Attention should now be paid to the use of personal protective equipment when driving all-terrain vehicles and to safe working habits when in close contact with reindeer.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1981

Effects of killed Brucella abortus strain 45/20 vaccine on reindeer later challenge exposed with Brucella suis type 4.

Six seronegative pregnant reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L) were vaccinated with killed Brucella abortus strain 45/20 with added adjuvant. These were challenge exposed with B suis type 4 after 90 days; at the same time, 4 seronegative, nonvaccinated, pregnant reindeer (controls) were given the challenge inoculum. Humoral antibodies were detected in the vaccinated reindeer by postvaccination day 14. A marked increase in antibody levels also occurred after they were challenge exposed, but did not reach the levels observed in control reindeer which seroconverted within 8 days after they were given the challenge inoculum. One control reindeer aborted at 45 days after challenge exposure (at 165 days of a normal 225-day gestation period), and the fawn of another lived only a few days after delivery. Brucella suis type 4 was isolated from tissues of 3 of 4 control reindeer and of 2 of their fawns. All vaccinated reindeer gave birth to live fawns which were culture negative, although 1 fawn lived only a few days. Brucella suis type 4 was isolated from tissues of 1 vaccinated reindeer. Under the conditions of this experiment, killed B abortus 45/20 vaccine provided increased resistance to brucellosis.

Abortion, Veterinary↗
PubMed2004

The effect of different mineral frames on ectopic bone formation in mouse hind leg muscles induced by native reindeer bone morphogenetic protein.

INTRODUCTION: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) require carrier material for slow release and framing material for osteoconduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effect of a frame on early bone formation induced by partially purified native reindeer BMP in composite implants containing 3 mg of BMP, type IV collagen and tricalcium phosphate (TCP/Col/BMP) or hydroxyapatite (HA/Col/BMP) or biphasic tricalcium phosphate-hydroxyapatite (TCP/HA/Col/BMP) or biocoral (NC/Col/BMP) was evaluated using a mouse hind leg muscle pouch model. Collagen with native reindeer BMP (Col/BMP) and corresponding implants without native reindeer BMP served as controls. Evaluation was done by incorporation of 45Ca, radiographically and histologically 3 weeks after the implantation. RESULTS: None of the implants without native reindeer BMP were able to induce new bone visible on radiographs. The area of new bone formation in the Col/BMP (p=0.026) and TCP/HA/Col/BMP (p=0.012) groups was significantly greater than in the TCP/Col/BMP group. The optical density of the new bone area was significantly greater in the TCP/HA/Col/BMP group than in the TCP/Col/BMP (p=0.036) or Col/BMP (p=0.02) groups. 45Ca incorporation was many times greater in all the groups containing native reindeer BMP than in the corresponding groups without BMP. In the Col/BMP (p=0.046) and TCP/HA/Col/BMP (p=0.046) groups, 45Ca incorporation was significantly greater than in the TCP/Col/BMP group. No significant differences were found in any parameters between HA/Col/BMP and NC/Col/BMP groups and the other BMP-containing groups. CONCLUSIONS: Hydroxyapatite, biocoral and biphasic tricalciumphosphate-hydroxyapatite are equally good as framing material for native reindeer BMP, while tricalciumphosphate is somewhat worse. Osteoinduction of native reindeer BMP works well with collagen alone.

Absorbable Implants↗
PubMed1989

Cs-137 concentration in reindeer and its fodder plants.

Radionuclides, especially the long-lived 137Cs (physical half-life 30 years), are accumulated efficiently in the northern, subarctic, lichen-reindeer-man foodchain. Until the Chernobyl accident the fallout nuclides studied originated from nuclear weapons tests. After this accident some fresh fallout was deposited in Finnish Lapland. Lichens grow very slowly and collect nutrients very efficiently from air, rain and snow. During winter the basic fodder plants for reindeer are lichens and some winter-green plants, shrubs and dry leaves. During the bare-ground season, the reindeer eat various grasses, herbs and leaves etc. Lichens constitute 30-50 per cent of the entire vegetable mass consumed by the reindeer in a year. The highest 137Cs-concentration 2500 Bq/kg dry weight was found in lichen in the middle of the 1960s. In 1985 the concentration had decreased to about 240 Bq/kg dry weight. After the Chernobyl accident the 137Cs-concentration in lichen varied from 200 to 2000 Bq/kg dry weight in Finnish Lapland. In reindeer fodder plant samples collected in the 1980s before the Chernobyl accident the 137Cs-concentration varied from 5 to 970 Bq/kg dry weight. The highest 137Cs-concentration in reindeer meat, about 2500 Bq/kg fresh weight, was found in 1965 and thereafter decreased to about 300 Bq/kg fresh weight in the winter before the Chernobyl accident. After the accident the mean 137Cs-concentration in reindeer meat from the 1986-87 slaughtering period was 720 Bq/kg fresh weight and in 1987-88, 630 Bq/kg fresh weight.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

Localization, cellular morphology and respiratory capacity of "brown" adipose tissue in newborn reindeer.

1. The localization and cellular morphology of adipose tissue was studied by light, fluorescence and electron microscopy in reindeer between 2 weeks pre partum and 4.5 months post partum during calving, and the subsequent growth period. The respiratory capacity of the adipose tissue was examined in terms of morphometric mitochondrial volume and cytochrome-c oxidase or succinate dehydrogenase activity. 2. Adipose tissue was located at specific anatomical sites in the newborn reindeer (from 0 to 2 days of age). The perirenal-abdominal depot was the largest location (32%) followed by the inter(pre)scapular (18%) and sternal (12%) depots. Internal depot dominated over external or peripheral depots (66-34%). The locations of adipose tissue were largely similar in foetal, newborn and young reindeer. 3. The adipose tissue of the newborn reindeer had all the typical cell morphological characteristics of brown adipose tissue: abundant mitochondria, multilocular fat, high vascularization and a dense spot-like sympathetic innervation between the adipocytes. In the young reindeer, however, it resembled white adipose tissue, being almost totally unilocular with few mitochondria. 4. There was a significant correlation between morphometric mitochondrial volume and cytochrome-c oxidase activity (r = 0.848) in the adipose tissue. Mitochondrial volume, cytochrome-c oxidase and succinate dehydrogenase activity were highest after birth and decreased to almost an undetectable level during the first month. A parallel decrease occurred in the amount of brown adipose tissue from birth (1-2%) to the age of about one month (0.3%). 5. It is concluded that the distinct cell morphological features and high respiratory capacity of the adipose tissue indicate the presence of brown adipose tissue at specific anatomical locations in newborn reindeer. A marked progression towards the characteristics of white adipose tissue then takes place at the same locations during the first month. The results suggest the fundamental significance of brown adipose tissue for non-shivering thermogenesis in newborn reindeer.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed2003

Bacteria of pathogenic importance in faeces from cadavers of free-ranging or corralled semi-domesticated reindeer in northern Norway.

There is little information on bacteria that have the potential to cause disease in reindeer husbandry. In this project, faecal samples from 35 free-ranging or corralled reindeer, adults and calves, that died in the winter of 2000 in northern Norway, were examined for the occurrence of Campylobacter spp., Clostridium perfringens, Listeria spp., Salmonella spp. and Yersinia spp. to evaluate the role of these microrganisms in loss and mortality in reindeer husbandry. In addition, 31 of these samples were examined for the occurrence of bacteria producing shigatoxin-1 and 2. C. perfringens was isolated in 20 (57.1%) of the faecal samples. In the free-ranging reindeer, 44% were positive carriers of C. perfringens and 90% of the corralled ones were positive for C. perfringens. In addition, the gene encoding for shigatoxin-1 was detected in one of the samples derived from a corralled reindeer. The other bacteria investigated were not found. Shigatoxin-1-producing bacteria were isolated for the first time from reindeer in Norway. However, no correlation between C. perfringens or shigatoxin-1-producing bacteria and mortality in the reindeer could be established.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1995

Genetic variation in domestic reindeer and wild caribou in Alaska.

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) were introduced into Alaska 100 years ago and have been maintained as semidomestic livestock. They have had contact with wild caribou (R.t.granti) herds, including deliberate crossbreeding and mixing in the wild. Reindeer have considerable potential as a domestic animal for meat or velvet antler production, and wild caribou are important to subsistence and sport hunters. Our objective was to quantify the genetic relationships of reindeer and caribou in Alaska. We identified allelic variation among five herds of wild caribou and three herds of reindeer with DNA sequencing and restriction enzymes for three loci: a DQA locus of the major histocompatibility complex (Rata-DQA1), kappa-casein and the D-loop of mitochondrial DNA. These loci are of interest because of their potential influence on domestic animal performance and the fitness of wild populations. There is considerable genetic variation in reindeer and caribou for all three loci, including five, three and six alleles for DQA, kappa-casein and D-loop respectively. Most alleles occur in both reindeer and caribou, which may be the result of recent common ancestry or genetic introgression in either direction. However, allele frequencies differ considerably between reindeer and caribou, which suggests that gene flow has been limited.

Alaska↗
PubMed2001

Determination of optimal immobilizing doses of a medetomidine hydrochloride and ketamine hydrochloride combination in captive reindeer.

OBJECTIVE: To establish optimal immobilizing doses of medetomidine hydrochloride (MED) with ketamine hydrochloride (KET) for hand- and dart-administered injections in captive reindeer. ANIMALS: 12 healthy 6- to 9-month-old reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Procedure An optimal dose was defined as a dose resulting in an induction time of 150 to 210 seconds, measured from the time of IM injection until recumbency. Initially, each stalled reindeer was immobilized by hand-administered injection. If the induction time was > 210 seconds, the dose was doubled for the next immobilization procedure. If it was < 150 seconds, the dose was halved for the next immobilization procedure. This iteration procedure was continued for each reindeer until an optimal dose was found. Later the reindeer was placed in a paddock and darted with its optimal dose as determined by hand-administered injection. Adjusting to a linear relationship between dose and induction time, optimal darting doses for each reindeer were predicted and later verified. RESULTS: The established mean optimal hand- and dart-administered doses were 0.10 mg of MED/kg of body mass with 0.50 mg of KET/kg, and 0.15 mg of MED/kg with 0.75 mg of KET/kg, producing mean induction times of 171 seconds and 215 seconds, respectively. The mean induction time after darting was 5 seconds greater than the upper limit of the predefined time interval. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The higher dose requirement of MED-KET administration outdoors, compared with indoors, was explained by factors inherent in the darting technique and the different confinements. The iteration and the prediction methods seem applicable for determination of optimal doses of MED-KET in reindeer. The iteration and the prediction procedures may be used to reduce the number of experimental animals in dose-response studies in other species.

Analgesics↗