Chemical Immobilization Effects on Cougar (Felis concolor) Movement.
J Wildl Dis
; 2024 Aug 02.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39093818
ABSTRACT
Capturing and handling wildlife is a common practice for both management and research. As telemetry use has become common, the need to capture and chemically immobilize wildlife has increased. Understanding how long the effects of immobilizing agents last after releasing the animal is often poorly understood but needed to ensure that analyses use data that reflect natural behavior. Between 2016 and 2021, 87 cougars (Puma concolor) were chemically immobilized with medetomidine, zolazepam, and tiletamine (MZT) and collared across west-central Alberta, Canada, 27 of which were individuals being recollared. We examined the distance an individual traveled per day and compared equivalent periods before and after the recollaring event to determine whether postcapture movement rates were significantly different from precapture rates. Within 1 d of the recollaring, daily movement rates had returned to precapture rates (t20=2.09, P=0.18). Our results provide insight on how MZT used in cougars affects their postcapture movement and thus may be helpful in interpreting movement data after release.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Wildl Dis
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá