Assessment of health and reproductive status in African and Asian elephants by transrectal ultrasonography
2000
Hildebrandt, Thomas B.(Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research, Berlin (Germany. Dept. of Ultrasound) | Goritz, Frank(Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research, Berlin (Germany. Dept. of Ultrasound) | Pratt, Nancy C.(Disney's Animal Kingdom, (USA)) | Schmitt, Dennis L.(Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield (USA). Dept. of Veterinary) | Lehnhardt, John(Disney's Animal Kingdom, (USA)) | Hermes, Robert(Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research, Berlin (Germany. Dept. of Ultrasound) | Quandt, Sybille(University of Pretoria, Ondersteport (South Africa). Faculty of Veterinary Science) | Raath, Jacobus(Kruger National Park, Skukuza (South Africa)) | West, Gary(Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Inc., Polk City (USA). Center for Elephant Conservation) | Montali, Richard J.(National Zoological Park, Washington DC (USA). Dept. of Pathology)
Transrectal ultrasonography was performed on 10 male and 85 female African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) and on 5 male and 39 female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in order to develop standards for assessment of reproductive health and status. Captive and wild African males and females as well as captive Asian males and females were examined. The entire internal urogenital tract was visualized ultrasonographically by using a 3.5 MHz, a 7.5 MHz and a 10.0 MHz transducer in combination with two probe extensions specially adapted for elephant anatomy. The findings were verified by post-mortem ex situ ultrasound examinations in each species. Each part of the internal urogenital tract was sonographically detectable except for main parts of the late pregnant uterus (GT 13 month p.c.) in females and the bulbo-urethral glands and the cranial portion of the ureters (in both sex) and ductus deferentes in males. A variety of pathological alterations were found but mostly in the captive population of African and Asian elephants. There was a very high incidence of uterine leiomyomas in the female genital tract of captive Asian elephants (35.9 percent). In contrast, wild and captive African elephants never develop leiomyomas but frequently have endometrial cysts (11.3 percent wild, 14.3 percent captive) and ovarian cysts (1.4 percent wild, 21.4 percent captive). This study presents results which indicate that transrectal ultrasonography may be used as an effective, non-surgical tool for reproductive and health assessment of elephants which has implications for management, population control and assisted reproduction.
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