Elephants - a challenge for the veterinary surgeons

This article aims at the presentation of some issues related to the veterinarian care for elephants in zoo gardens. Elephants are the most powerful land animals that live today. In the wild, they live in herds, where complex interactions between individuals are constant. Elephants deprived of the company of other animals of their species, and especially those confined to small enclosures, may exhibit disturbed behaviour. As they are powerful and intelligent animals, they can pose a serious threat to those who come into contact with them, so working with elephants requires a great deal of experience and caution. Conducting daily medical training habituates these animals to various forms of medical intervention. A veterinarian dealing with elephants must learn the specificity of these animals. Unique features of elephant anatomy are the presence of a trunk, the absence of a pleural cavity and the process of chewing teeth replacement that occurs five times in a lifetime. Correct veterinary care should include special attention to suitable housing, including the amount of exercise and foot care. It is extremely important to avoid the elephants contracting tuberculosis, as an animal with TB should be euthanised. As elephants are getting older their physical performance gradually worsens due to progressive lesions in the joints. Old animals usually require anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatment, which may cause adverse side effects in the digestive tract. When an elephant is no longer able to stand, it must be euthanised. Dead animal should undergo a thorough post-mortem examination, despite the fact that an elephant necropsy is a huge organisational challenge