Objective: To describe results of analysis of free-catch urine samples collected from Antillean manatees () under human care in the Caribbean.
Animals: 32 Antillean manatees in 5 Caribbean oceanaria and rescue centers.
Procedures: Urine samples were obtained by opportunistic free catch during physical examination or through the use of operant conditioning procedures.
Melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease of humans and animals caused by the bacterium and endemic in tropical regions, principally Southeast Asia and northern Australia. In September 2017, after Hurricane Maria impacted the Dolphin Discovery facility in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, a juvenile male bottlenose dolphin () died within 96 hr of presenting with acute anorexia, lethargy, and respiratory distress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrinalysis is a rapid, simple, inexpensive, and reliable test that documents urine abnormalities reflecting various types of renal, hormonal, or metabolic diseases. Urinalysis could assist proper monitoring of the health of dolphins under human care; however, normal baseline values for dolphin urinalysis have not been reported, to our knowledge. We sampled urine from 193 common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus), living under human care in 24 Caribbean dolphinariums, by voluntary free-catch and analyzed the urine for chemical and microscopic variables using multi-agent dry reagent chemistry dipstick test strips, dedicated pH reagent strips, and unstained sediment slides.
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