The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Nilgai undergoes surgical procedure

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Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Nilgai undergoes surgical procedure

Staff Reporter

— Photo: S. Mahinsha

Road to recovery: A veterinary surgeon applying a bandage after cutting the overgrown hoof of a Nilgai at the zoo on Monday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Nilgai underwent a surgical procedure at the zoo here on Monday for an overgrown hoof, a condition called laminitis that had caused its solitary confinement for the past few months.

The procedure involved cutting away the overgrown part on the right forelimb and packing the hoof with copper sulphate, which is expected to act as a cauterising agent. R. Sunil Kumar, veterinary surgeon from the Animal Husbandry Department, and zoo vet Joe Jacob Sebastian performed the half-hour procedure.

Dr. Sunil Kumar said it had to be done quickly, as the Nilgai could not be kept anesthetised for long.

Keeping the animal sedated for long could adversely affect its health.

“The animal’s condition could have been the result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak at the zoo last year,” he said. “Normally, a Nilgai’s hoof grows by about 6 mm in a month. I expect this animal to be normal in about a month and a half. Though this procedure is quite routinely done in cattle, this was possibly for the first time that such a procedure was being done for an animal at the zoo.”

The animal keepers did an excellent job of preparing the Nilgai for the procedure, he said.

The bandage applied on Monday will remain in place for 20 days after which a fresh one will be applied. The vets expect a fresh growth of tissue to cover the damaged hoof by that time. The Nilgai will be kept in confinement all these days to prevent the treated hoof from suffering any additional damage.

Dr. Sebastian said the animal’s movements had been restricted before Monday’s procedure.

“If the animal had walked around, there would have been the risk of the damaged hoof getting infected. We would also not have been able to spray medicine on the hoof and change the dressing,” he said.

There are seven Nilgai (an antelope species) at the zoo at present.

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