A Trunkful of Memories
Elephants at the Zoo
Tracking an Elephant KillerSpotlight on Vet Medicine
June 5, 2009
An Anemic Elephant
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| Ambika and Marie Galloway, an elephant keeper. |
Ambika is one of three Asian elephants at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. At 61 years old, she is one of the oldest elephants in North America. She has lived at the Zoo since 1961 when the children of India gave her to the United States as a gift. Throughout her life here, she has been a very healthy animal, thanks to the care and attention of the staff who feed, exercise, and bathe her every day.
However, in early 2007, her keepers noticed that she seemed to be feeling a bit off. Because the keepers get to know the animals they work with so well, they can detect subtle signs that can indicate a medical problem. In this case, Ambika was acting sluggish. Also, she's normally a picky eater, but her appetite began to decrease noticeably. The keepers called in the vets to check her out, and they took a blood sample from one of the veins in her large ears. (This is a behavior the keepers practice with her every day, so that it's not a big deal to get a blood sample from her when she's sick.) The blood test showed that she was anemic.
Anemic animals have fewer red blood cells than normal, and this often means that someone (elephant or human) is losing blood somewhere. Since Ambika wasn't visibly bleeding, the Zoo veterinarians suspected that she may have been bleeding internally. They started her on a course of antibiotics, in case an infection was part of the problem. Within a few days, Ambika started to be more active and eat better again, as her body made more red cells to make up for the lost blood and her anemia got better.
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| Veterinary radiologists ultrasound Ambika, while curator Tony Barthel watches. |
But Zoo veterinarians still needed to run some tests to figure out why Ambika became anemic in the first place. The Zoo veterinarians invited consultants who specialize in performing ultrasounds on elephants (using sound waves to look at internal organs) to help evaluate Ambika under sedation. Once they got a good look at her, they noticed that she appeared to have a large blood clot in her uterus, indicating that she had bled into her reproductive tract.
A type of tumor called a leiomyoma is commonly found in the uterus of older female Asian elephants, particularly if they have not given birth. Leiomyomas are usually benign, but in this case, the vets suspected that a leiomyoma had invaded a blood vessel and caused internal bleeding. This would explain both the blood clot in Ambika's uterus and her anemia.
National Zoo veterinarians and scientists worked together to come up with a plan for surgical or medical treatment to prevent Ambika from having further bleeding episodes. Since surgery on an 8,000-pound elephant is very difficult because of the animal's size, the team began considering different options for medical treatment. They decided to try a new treatment, originally made for cattle, which would decrease her reproductive hormone production. They hoped this would shrink her uterus and the suspected leiomyoma along with it and thus decrease the chance of bleeding again. Although this treatment, called a GnRH vaccine, had not been used before in female elephants before, a similar vaccine had been used in male elephants to decrease aggression. It seemed to be the safest way to manage Ambika's problem as long as the treatment worked as well on elephants as it did on cows.
Ambika's keepers have trained her to stand still and accept injections from the Zoo's veterinarians. After giving Ambika an injection, the vets always give her a favorite treat, usually biscuits, as a reward. They gave her an initial vaccine injection followed by several boosters over time. Zoo scientists checked hormone levels in her blood regularly, and after a few booster vaccines, they show the hoped-for decline in reproductive hormone levels. Eventually, she even stopped cycling. The novel use of this vaccine was a success!
Follow-up ultrasound exams showed that the blood clot in her uterus had gone away, and that her reproductive tract had shrunk exactly as the vets had hoped. Ambika's blood is checked every two weeks and we are very happy to report that she has not been anemic or shown any evidence of any more internal bleeding.
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| Elephant keepers Marie Galloway and Brad Hange collect blood for routine health assessments from Ambika's ear vein. |
Asian elephants are endangered with only about 30,000 remaining in the wild in small, fragmented populations. Scientists at the National Zoo are working to protect Asian elephants and their habitat and have contributed immensely to knowledge of their management and breeding in captivity. The information gained from using this new treatment to manage Ambika’s illness will add to that base of knowledge. It expands the treatment options for other elephants with leiomyomas or other reproductive problems and shows promise for use as a contraceptive in situations where that would help in managing elephant populations.
Next time you are at the Zoo, stop by and see Ambika at the Elephant House. She's the elephant with the most pink on her trunk and ears, and the tops of her ears fold over. While you're there take a look at the work going on at Elephant Trails, the greatly expanded new home for the Zoo's Asian elephants.
Note to Media: If you would like more information about this project, or any of the Zoo's conservation and science programs, please contact the Zoo's Office of Public Affairs.
