title: Chemical immobilization of raccoons (Procyon lotor) with ketamine-medetomidine mixture and reversal with atipamezole.
abstract: Safe and reliable capture techniques for wild animals are important for ecologic studies and management operations. We assessed the efficiency of ketamine-medetomidine (K:M) injection and reversal with atipamezole. We anesthetized 67 raccoons (Procyon lotor; 34 males, 33 females) 103 times (individuals captured between one and five times) from April 2009-October 2010 in Mont-Orford Provincial Park, Quebec, Canada. We administered a 1:1 mixture by volume of ketamine and medetomidine by intramuscular injection. Mean (±SD) induction times for males and females were 6.1±2.8 and 6.6±3.7 min, respectively. Mean induction time was 2 min longer for juveniles than for adults (7.8±3.9 and 5.8±2.9 min, respectively) and longer in autumn than in spring for adults (7.7±3.8 and 5.4±2.9 min, respectively). Recovery time after administration of atipamezole was 9.6±3.8 and 8.4±4.4 min for males and females, respectively. Recovery time was longer in spring than in autumn (10.2±4 and 7.4±3.8 min, respectively) for adults. Induction time increased by 166% after five captures of the same individual. Immobilization did not affect body mass, adult survival, or female reproductive success. We suggest the K:M mixture used is a safe and reliable method for anesthetizing raccoons in field conditions.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Karine.Robert2@USherbrooke.ca
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garant
authors.forename: Fanie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pelletier
mesh_terms: D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007103:Immobilization / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular / Q000662:veterinary; D007649:Ketamine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D008297:Male; D020926:Medetomidine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011821:Raccoons / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; C050701:atipamezole; D007649:Ketamine; D020926:Medetomidine