Behavioral training and hydraulic chute restraint enables handling of eland antelope (Taurotragus oryx) without general anesthesia.

Difficulties and risks associated with restraining large nondomestic ungulates are limiting factors toward developing and applying assisted reproductive technologies, such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer. In this study on 10 female eland (Taurotragus oryx), we evaluated the use of behavioral training and handling handling in a hydraulic chute to perform transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval and other clinical procedures. Nine females were conditioned to associate specific sound cues with food treats. The interval from the audio cue until acceptance of handheld treats varied among females (1.8-58.3 min). Animals also differed in their response to training for voluntary entry into the chute. Handling eland for oocyte retrieval in the hydraulic chute required xylazine sedation. During sedation and handling, eland undergoing oocyte retrieval procedures had higher blood glucose levels (14.4 +/- 3.1) than females handled similarly but without oocyte retrieval (9.3 +/- 2.7 mmol/L). Plasma osmotic pressure, hematocrit, and creatine phosphokinase activity were similar between these two groups. Females that were more difficult to train had higher blood glucose levels than the more cooperative animals. Cooperative females had fewer vertical stripes on their sides. More than 40 procedures were conducted without complications or mortality. The combination of behavioral conditioning-training and restraint of sedated eland in a hydraulic chute was a reliable and repeatable method for performing minimally invasive assisted reproductive techniques.