29/05/2026
SRUC(Scotland's Rural College) Vet Nurses on the
Waterberg Wildlife & Veterinary Course - Welgevonden
SRUC Oatridge Campus veterinary nursing students and alumni had an incredible experience assisting with this important veterinary intervention. Two adult female elephants at Welgevonden Game Reserve recently underwent a procedure led by wildlife veterinarian Dr Peter Caldwell (Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic) with the Welgevonden Biomonitoring and conservation teams.
As part of Welgevonden’s adaptive elephant contraception and monitoring programme, a VHF/GPS collar was transferred from an older matriarch to a younger breeding-age cow within the same herd. Management objectives have shifted toward prioritising reproduction in younger females while reducing repeated immobilisations of geriatric cows nearing the end of their reproductive and natural lifespan. The newly collared female was specifically selected due to the absence of distinctive ear notches or identifiable phenotypic markers, making aerial identification more challenging.
Following chemical immobilisation, blood and faecal samples were collected for an ongoing reproductive endocrinology research project with Professor Henk Bertschinger, focusing on hormonal evaluation and assessment of ovarian cyclicity and potential sterility following annual PZP (Porcine Zona Pellucida) immunocontraception treatments. Comparative samples had previously been collected from the older matriarch during collaring procedures conducted in 2024.
Standard morphometric measurements were also recorded, including shoulder height, foot circumference, tusk length, and tusk circumference, all of which contribute toward age estimation and long-term biometric monitoring.
Supportive veterinary treatments administered during immobilisation included long-acting antibiotics for dart wound prophylaxis and management, as well as supportive therapy comprising Kyroligo multivitamin and mineral supplementation, Catosal, and Vitamin B complex.
These interventions continue to contribute valuable data toward elephant population management, reproductive monitoring, and wildlife veterinary research, while simultaneously providing these vet nurses with practical exposure to large mammal wildlife immobilisation and field veterinary procedures.
