Husbandry Manual for Common Wombat - Report Example

Husbandry Manual for Common Wombat Name Course Instructor’s Name Date Abstract The wombat husbandry manual was designed to highlight the focused wants of this species and the dedication applicable to sufficiently house and accommodate for a challenging animal like this one. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Economic implications of acquiring, maintaining and displaying this species 4 Natural habitat and geographic location 4 Importance of genetic management of wombat 5 Breeding and pregnant cycles 6 Nutritional requirements 8 Major diseases affecting the wombats 8 Common signs and symptoms in unhealthy animals 9 Methods of capture and restraint 10 Conclusion 11 Reference 12 Introduction The purpose for this zoo is for education services and conservation. Considering, the education curriculum, most students receive more information on certain animals but they are not aware of the real physical appearance and common behaviours. This is the main reason why the zoo should get this species Economic implications of acquiring, maintaining and displaying this species Until currently, the hair nosed wombat was highly hunted for its fur because it has a high commercial value (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). The wombat can be somehow expensive to maintain especially on the health diet and safety measures. Keeping their health records and maintaining the feeding habits and materials can also be cumbersome (Jackson, 2003). To minimize the workload, more workers can be recruited and the cost for visitation be increased to balance the income and expenses. Natural habitat and geographic location Wombats are adapted to dry, hot climates by lessening the amount of moment spent above the ground (Cheng, 2007). Wombats make use of their claws to dig burrows in an open grasslands and eucalyptus forests. They reside in these burrows that can become wide tunnel and chamber complex. Ordinary wombats are friendless and reside in their own burrows, whereas other species may be social and survive together in bigger burrow (Keiser, 2010) To have a better enclosure design, natural behaviour of the animal should be considered first. As this animal is destructive, only a basic design is required. The location of the enclosure is also important for instance, cold season, the animal needs sun to bask and shade in the heat. These animals do not sweat and the common wombat is able to show the signs of overheating as long as temperatures are above twenty-four degrees Celsius, therefore, indoors enclosure would be an option to allow good temperature control (Jackson, 2003). The wombat enclosure should be well spaced for viewing and furnished in a secure design to avoid movement once wombats dig; this ensures no difficulty to staffs in maintaining the animal. Digging is necessary for wombats to minimize the claws growth. They also enjoy, sandy loam, dust bath and leaf litter which give an excellent substrate (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). The staffs should check the enclosure on daily basis and any uneaten food together with faeces should be removed. Availability of water and nest boxes for sleeping and allowing ease when handling the animal should be given the first priority. If such requirements are not met, heat stress can kill them very quickly. Importance of genetic management of wombat The genetic management of wombat is very important in the society for maintenance of the species, which is rarely found in most regions. For instance in a country like Australia, the species main source of existence was in two locations: New South Wales and in Queensland. There is up to date one population that is only surviving in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland (Jackson, 2003). As their population size declined to approximately thirty-five individuals in early ninety eighty’s, the numbers have been little by little been recovered due to conservation efforts. This entire population has mostly been dominated by the males, but in the two thousand and five census, it was reported that, female population were recovering with sixty two males and fifty three females recorded, with only thirty five females of breeding status (Cheng, 2007). From this report, it is true to say that, the population of wombat in years to come, if no good maintenance is present, will be very low, thus, the management of this species is very crucial. The wombat has been used as a means of attracting tourists and most students in the host location. In doing this, the economy of the host country improved and on the other hand, most students get to understand the physical features of this animal (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). The only way to achieve this is by captivity and providing a suitable environment for its development. The zookeepers should be encouraged to liaise with other zoos in order to get more information on handling and management of the wombat captive (Jackson, 2003). One incredibly interesting fact about this species is their failure of heterozygosity. Measurements of DNA changeability made on DNA removed from specimens from dead populations of this wombat (Deniliquin, New South Wales) exposed that Epping Forest populations have only forty-one percentage of the changeability of the wiped out population, signifying a bottlenecked species in secure decline. Breeding and pregnant cycles There is a particular mating period per year in the spring/summer seasons. Birth time vary from November to March. It has lately been hypothesized that heavy rainfall in the winter months proceeding to the mating time is positively linked with birth rate. This is because rain makes the native grasses plentiful (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). Considering their natural habitat, it exposed low sub adult survivorship, although not revealing why this happen. The little wombat is carried in the mother's pouch for around six months and nursed for eight to nine months. Unluckily, almost nothing is recognized on the details of their reproduction or gestation since it is hard to observe them in the wild, and in captivity, they fare well not (Cheng, 2007). The wombat is a marsupial, fitting in to the order Marsupialia (Nowak, 1999). Almost all marsupials have no placenta that joins the mother with the emerging foetus in the womb. Marsupial females naturally have an exterior pouch in which the undeveloped young are raised following birth until early on infancy. The newborn normally creep to this pouch after birth, fix themselves to nipples, and are nurtured until they are able to survive outside the pouch (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). This period in the pouch is like the afterward stages of a placental mammal's growth in the womb. Marsupials also are different from placental mammals in features of reproductive traits. The female consist of two vaginas (Cheng, 2007). The two vaginas open on the outside through one orifice, although it leads to dissimilar compartments inside the uterus. The males generally have a two-sided penis that match up to the females' two vaginas. Female wombats give origin to a particular young in the spring, after a conception period lasting for about twenty-two days (Johnson 2004). These have a strong pouch, which the young depart after approximately six to nine months. The young ones are weaned after a year and three months, and are mature sexually at one year and six months of age (McIlroy 1984). The unfortunate breeding routine of wombats in captivity can be related to unsatisfactory space for their energetic courtship habit and from the rivalry created from pairing solitary animals. Nutritional requirements Diet in the common wombats has always been associated to their breeding in captivity. Prior to a breeding season, fresh green grass must be provided in plenty on a daily basis for several months (MacCallum, 2003). This should go on up to the end of the breeding season and can be of help in reproduction. Wombats may become obese on continuous feeding of energy and high protein diets. Wombats are herbivores and nocturnal and come out to feed at night on bark, root and grasses. Supplements regularly used in captivity like, Lucerne, vegetables, cubes and fruits are probably too high in energy and low in fibber thus should not be preferred for long period maintenance. During convalescence, higher energy and protein diets for a short term are required (MacCallum, 2003). For long time captivity, non-toxic branches to enhance bark chewing in order to terminate incisor overgrowth is important (Jackson, 2003). The food should be provided in stainless steal trays or hoppers 20cm beyond the ground surface to prevent the animal’s movement through the feed and defecating. Major diseases affecting the wombats One of the major diseases affecting the wombat is the devastating condition known as sarcoptic mange (MacCallum, 2003). Infection with this sarcoptic mange mice leads to the development of crusty lesions, pruritis and severe alopecia in an animal body. As the infection prolongs to the advanced stages, the crusty lesions cracks, giving way to secondary infection and septicaemia. Later on, the lesions infect most part of the eyelids, which leads to severe conjunctivitis together with crusting of the ears (Nowak, 1999). The most severely inhibited is the acute sense of the wombat. The intense pruritis causes rubbing of the skin that leads to loss of epidermis and later secondary infection on the dermis. The lesions differ from mild encrustations on the surface of the head to widespread wrinkled thickened flaking skin and hemorrhagic cracks on the same dermis (Hartley, 2008). Movement, chewing activities and vision can be made worse by the severity of the skin changes (Yyndale-Biscoe, 2005). The affected wombats are more active in daytime. This infection when allowed to continue, cause reproductive activity to fail completely, with the entire infected wombat dying eventually and some as fast as two or three months after the first infection. This disease can end up causing local extinction of the wombat population (MacCallum, 2003). Management of the infection could be the use of drugs and increasing the protein quantity for several days in order to provide sufficient nutrients for recovery. In this kind of an infection, death can occur through starvation or misadventure if there is absence of human intervention (Cheng, 2007). To ensure the health of the animals the zoo management should ensure optimum health state by being careful on regular vaccination or de-worming programs from the animal health centres. The staffs should be responsible to identify and report any suspected change in the health of an animal. To ease the health program, the staffs should keep the animals record safely (MacCallum, 2003). Common signs and symptoms in unhealthy animals Diarrhoea Loss of weight Abdominal swelling Nasal discharge Some blood stains in urine Difficult in breathing Skin lesions Regurgitation Lethargy Straining Cysts etc Methods of capture and restraint In general, the technique and equipments that are used to capture and hold the animal mainly depends on: The health status of the animal, could there be injury? The size and the temperament Reproductive status, could the animal be pregnant or having young ones? Expertise and ability of the handlers Species With this kind of species, physical restraint can be applicable: The varieties of equipment that are necessary includes, hand gloves, crush cages, cloth bags/Hessian sacks, hooks, trap door cages etc The wombats are encouraged to run into a strongbox or large bag; this makes it possible to get hold of them from behind just around the chest under the forelegs. It is always advisable to be more careful for this animal can bite savagely (MacCallum, 2003). As adult wombats are very heavy and strong, the best lifting technique can be applied in order to prevent damage on the handlers back (Jackson, 2003). Aggressive wombat with a dislike of being picked up on the other hand, can retreat into their nest box, log or pipe and present their rear end to the handler, in such an incidence, the handler should be very cautious and take care or else make use of a nest box with a hinged lid that is handy for this is safer, easy and faster method to get hold of the animal. However, an option for chemical restraint may be applied (MacCallum, 2003). For chemical restraint, a dissociative aesthetic for single use or in mixture with muscle relaxants or tranquillizers in wombat’s use25mg/kg body weight ketamine base i.m. (0.25mL KETAMIL injection per kg body weight i.m.). It works by causing complex reactions within the brain, depressing some areas while stimulating others. This is mostly used for aggressive or dangerous animals, which are beyond physical capture for it is an easy task (troy laboratories Australia, 2010). Conclusion As the management of the wombat appears to be demanding, the zoo management should ensure every necessity from living conditions, diet habits to health maintenance are all catered for. This requirement facilitates the well-being, reproduction safety and long living periods of this animal in captivity. Reference Cheng, C. (2007). Locally Wild: Keeping Native Animals as Pets. Victoria: Pluto Press Australia. Hartley, K. (2008). Resources. Available at; http://www.marsupialsociety.org/02au03.html Jackson, S. (2003). Australian mammals: biology and captive management. Sydney: Csiro Publishing. Johnson, C. (2004). Wombats. Pages 51-56 in B. Grzimek, S. F. Craig, D. A. Thoney, N. Schlager, and M. Hutchins. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopaedia, Volume 13 (Mammals II). Detroit, MI: Thomson/Gale. Keiser, L. (2010). Common Wombat. Available at; http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wombat/ MacCallum, C. (2003). Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) husbandry manual. Sydney: MacCallum Publishers. Nowak, R. (1999). Walker's mammals of the world, Volume 1, 6th Ed. New York: JHU Press. Troy laboratories Australia. (2010). Ilium Ketamil. Available at http://www.troylab.com.au/products.php?tid=1&iid=20&pid=96 Yyndale-Biscoe, C. (2005). Life of marsupials. Sydney: Csiro Publishing. Read More