Nice late start today—we didn’t leave until 6:30! We met Rita at a lovely game reserve where they had a sable antelope with a large abscess. The reserve managers regularly fed the antelope near the lodge, so the plan was to simply wait for the group of sable bulls to appear, dart the affected one, and treat the abscess.
So we waited….
And the golden wildebeest came, along with the wrong 2 sable bulls.
And the nyala came and went.
And the Cape buffalo came and took over the feeding area—they’re pretty aggressive and don’t share well.
So we piled into the back of a pickup and went out looking for the injured bull. We drove all over the reserve. Plenty of other antelope, but our patient remained elusive. Back to the lodge to watch the feeding station. No bull. Back to the truck to drive the reserve. No bull. Back to the lodge to enjoy our packed lunches on the terrace overlooking the feeding station. And the moment everybody’s mouth was full…there he was!
Back to the truck, a quick dart, and he didn’t even run very far. Once down, one member of the team takes control of the head, holding it up so that it’s higher than the rumen and in a nose-down position. This helps prevent the antelope from regurgitating rumen fluid and aspirating it to to his lungs. As ruminants, sables have a 20-gallon rumen for fermenting their food, and this fluid can be a problem if it gets where it doesn’t belong, as it’s full of bacteria, yeast and microorganisms that digest fiber.
So we loaded the sable onto a stretcher and he joined us in the bed of the pickup. We took him back to near the smaller pen (boma) where he would be left to recover. After scooting him into the tailgate of the truck, we got our first good look at his abscess. It was under his belly just where the chest joins the abdomen, and about the size of half a volleyball. Typically for an abscess, it had several softer spots, so we used a syringe and needle to take a sample to confirm that it was an abscess. We got a syringe full of bloody fluid and thick whitish pus.
We shaved the area and scrubbed it clean, then opened it at its lowest point, so it would drain. Some thick pus I drain out, but the lump did not go down as expected. A second incision was made further forward to drain the other section of the abscess. At this point, liquid digestive tract contents (partially digested grass and hay) came out of the incision. In addition to the abscess, there was a hernia present, and it was leaking contaminated fluid. The abscess and hernia were fused to each other, to the body wall, and to the omasum compartment of the stomach. The chances of this animal surviving were extremely small. The owner chose to euthanize the bull.
Afterward, students were able to conduct a necropsy, and examined the wound site, chest, and abdominal cavity. We were able to trace a deep puncture wound from the skin, through the body wall and into the omasum. Apparently the presumed horn wound created the hernia and introduced infection, which the bull’s body tried to wall off and repair by forming an abscess around the area.
After cleaning ourselves up, we moved on to our next appointment. We were to dart 3 Cape buffalo, and measure their horns so that they could be listed for auction. When we arrived, the Buffalo weren’t where they were expected to be, but we’re moving in the right direction. So we waited, hoping we could complete the task before dark.
This work went smoothly, and we finished just as we lost the light. Back to the lodge for supper and rest; tomorrow we had a 4:30 am departure, as we were going to Nelspruit for 2 days of work.
Pap with meat sauce, potato salad and the best garlic bread in the world!
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