title: The hematological profile of the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella): variations with sex, age, capture method, season, and anesthesia.
abstract: Hematological parameters were measured in 408 blood samples collected over a 30-mo period from 254 captive mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) in Saudi Arabia. We evaluated the influence of sex, age, capture method, and season, on these parameters. Evaluations also were made with a small number of anesthetized animals. Males had a significantly higher mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) than females. There was no observed neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio shift for either sex during the first months of life. The effects of different capture methods generally were similar in males and females and included a significantly lower MCV and MCH after quick capture. Animals undergoing slow capture had a significantly lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and very pronounced stress neutrophilia. We propose that this stress neutrophilia caused the permanently high neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio (62:36 average for all gazelles tested) and the lack of a neutrophil: lymphocyte shift in young animals. Erythrocyte counts were significantly higher in summer, while packed cell volume and hemoglobin concentration were the same in summer and winter; thus there was a significantly lower MCV and MCH, and a significantly higher MCHC in summer in both sexes. Fibrinogen varied significantly by sex, age, capture method, and anesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre, National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Rietkerk
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Delima
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mubarak
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D000866:Antelopes / Q000097:blood*; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001773:Blood Cells; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012621:Seasons; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D005340:Fibrinogen