Helping Hands for an ‘Alala
Posted at 12:14 pm June 18, 2007 by A. Tracey Goltz
As much as we would love to share our Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program’s daily news and exciting events on this Web log, breeding season leaves little time for writing. However, I must find the time to tell you about one particular event this breeding season that illustrates what an amazing group of people we work with.
On May 2, we were confronted with our first case of egg binding in a female ‘alala. Egg binding is the failure of an egg to pass through the oviduct at a normal rate. One of our most productive females, Lilinoe, was expected to begin laying her first clutch of eggs for the season but had become lethargic and had stopped visiting her nest. It became apparent that she was having trouble passing an egg.
You may think that being located on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would prevent efficient and effective veterinary management in an urgent case like this. Not so! Dr. Beth Bicknese, along with her San Diego Zoo veterinary colleagues, guided the staff at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center through all of the procedures necessary to stabilize and support the depressed, egg-bound bird. Blood was drawn for analysis, swabs taken for cultures, and subcutaneous fluids and medications were administered. A local veterinarian was enlisted for an on-site physical exam and was able to assist in the passing of Lilinoe’s first egg. We all drew a deep sigh of relief as she passed the (collapsed) egg.
When Lilinoe’s attitude and appetite did not rebound with the passing of the first egg, it was evident that her condition was more serious than we had thought. The Center’s attentive staff added tube feeding to Lilinoe’s list of treatments. The decision to bring a veterinarian and a vet tech out from San Diego was made and within 24 hours Dr. Geoff Pye and Kim Williams, RVT, arrived in Hawaii with surgical and ultrasound equipment in tow. Upon their arrival at the facility, an ultrasound (pictured above) and radiographs revealed a second collapsed egg in Lilinoe’s oviduct. Surgery was necessary to remove the egg. It took place in the Center’s clinic, and Dr. Pye impressively made a small incision at the exact location of the egg and extracted the egg and all of its contents. Within an hour after recovering from anesthesia, Lilinoe was alert and eating her first bites after a week of inappetence. Although Lilinoe will not be producing any more eggs this season, she has recovered from last month’s surgery and we hope that in the future she will continue to contribute to the future generations of ‘alala.
It goes without saying that we work with the best of the best. The San Diego Zoo veterinarians, pathologists, and laboratory technicians provide a level of care and expertise that is hard to match. MAHALO from all of us in Hawaii!
A. Tracey Goltz is a research animal coordinator for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
Read Tracey’s previous blog about ‘alala: Endangered Species Propagation Challenges.
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June 18th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Kudo’s to all involved. Your dedication shows and the results speak for themselves.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I am continuously impressed by the professionalism and knowledge of the zoo staff. This blog just reinforces that for me. Anytime someone wants to tell me what awful places zoos are, I just point them towards you all! Without the caring and dedicated folks such as yourselves, we would be a much poorer world.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I would like to thank all of those involved in this very important and successful endeavor.
October 19th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I know that time for writing is always scarce, but I wonder if you could us all know how many ‘alala there actually are in the population and what the breeding success has been in the current year? I couldn’t find any blog entries on this subject since June 2007. Thanks!
Alan Lieberman, program manager, responds: This past year (2008) we had six ‘alala chicks hatch and four survive. The two that did not survive both had congenital defects and did not survive to the age of fledging (see blog about the problems encountered with inbreeding and congenital abnormalities: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/endangered-species-propagation-challenges/). The four chicks are all doing well and will be joining the juveniles from 2007 shortly.