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Raika, a Sumatran tiger residing at London Zoo, one of two living collections owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), needed an ultrasound to establish the cause of her slightly swollen abdomen. Raika is part of an international breeding programme to ensure the continued survival of this endangered species, she is closely monitored by her keepers and vets and any changes in her health or appearance are carefully examined.
Raika arrived at London Zoo in 1997 and despite being partnered with two different males did not breed. Following successful treatment for reproductive issues, Raika has had two courses of artificial insemination but has so far shown no sign of conceiving. The vets hoped the ultrasound would determine whether Raika had conceived naturally or if the swelling was due to something more serious which required further treatment.
Rather than move Raika from her enclosure to the animal hospital, the vets decided to bring the operating theatre to her and set up a theatre in the back den of the tiger enclosure. This is a quicker and safer way of carrying out the procedure but required a huge amount of planning on the part of ZSL vet Tai Strike. She had to anticipate exactly what would be needed for the procedure, from the water buckets and the ultrasound probe to the number of lights required to enable the vets to see what they were doing!
Tai darted Raika to immobilise her and then Raika was intubated and a gas anaesthetic was administered by vet Jonathan Cracknell, who is completing specialist training with ZSL and the RVC. Animal reproductive expert Dr Thomas Hildebrandt of the Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, inserted a rectal ultrasound probe and located Raika's uterus. The ultrasound probe was originally developed for humans and has been modified for animals and then further modified by Dr. Hildebrandt. He has helped the ZSL vets monitor Raika throughout her reproductive treatment and was on hand to advise on her scan.
As well as conducting the ultrasound, the vets took the opportunity to take blood and hair samples to check Raika's general health and to provide genetic information for scientists working on other conservation projects. Many organisations will benefit from this single procedure and it will help to advance science and knowledge.
The scan established Raika's uterus, liver, spleen and kidneys to be healthy and found no reason for her swollen abdomen other than a bit of winter weight gain! It did reveal some evidence of a recent conception and though the pregnancy did not continue, it gave the vets reason to hope Raika will conceive again. The captive population of this fascinating species is very small and they are endangered in the wild, which is why the vets at ZSL are making a concerted effort to help Raika breed and preserve her genes and those of her mate, Lumpur, to safeguard the survival of Sumatran tigers.
