Haematological and Biochemical Values or the Blood and Blood Serum of Captive Northern White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum cottoni)

Abstract

Haematological and biochemical blood and blood serum values obtained from 7 northern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) kept in the Zoological Garden at Ovm Kralove are reported. The haematological values showed significant differences between pharmacologi cally unaffected and immobilized animals in erythrocyte count, haematocrit, haemoglobin content and monocyte count. The haematological and biochemical values obtained in immobilized animals were compared with the data reported in the relevant literature for immobilized southern white rhi noceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum). Adults, bloodcounts, biochemistry, white rhinoceros There are two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum): the southern (c. s. simum) and the northern (c. s. cottoni). In 1993 only nine animals (4 males and 5 females) of the northern subspecies were kept in captivity. Because of the great risk to which northern white rhinoceroses are exposed both in nature and captivity only few physiological data on this subspecies are available. The present short communication reports the results of haematological and biochemical examination of the blood and blood serum of this subspecies kept in the Zoo logical Garden at Ovitr Kralove.