The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has stated that it successfully treated an injured adult male reticulated giraffe at Meru National Park.
In a statement on Wednesday, KWS attributed this to the swift response of its Meru Mobile Veterinary Unit.
“The giraffe had a wound located on the right lateral aspect at the base of the neck, suspected to have been constantly reopened by ox-peckers,” KWS explained.
Upon immobilising the animal, the KWS veterinary team discovered that the wound was subcutaneous and infested with maggots.
According to the team, the injury appeared to be the result of blunt force trauma, possibly caused by impact with a tree stump or similar object.
The veterinary team carried out a thorough procedure to clean and disinfect the wound.
This included manual removal of the maggots, flushing with hydrogen peroxide and iodine and dressing the wound with green clay to encourage healing.
The giraffe was also administered antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.
KWS has reported that the animal is expected to make a full recovery.
“We are pleased to share that the giraffe has a good prognosis for full recovery,” KWS said, lauding the professionalism and dedication of their veterinary team.
KWS has mobile veterinary units stationed in different regions which respond to reports of injured or sick wild animals.
The roles of the vets include administering treatment for wounds, infections or injuries and using tranquillisers to safely immobilise animals for close care.
They also apply wound dressings, antibiotics and other medications and monitor their recovery in the wild when possible.
KWS also cares for the animals by enforcing anti-poaching policies where officers conduct regular patrols to deter poachers, use intelligence networks to track and arrest offenders and work with partners to prosecute wildlife crimes under the law.
Further, they use GPS collars to track movements and migration patterns, conduct aerial surveys and ground counts to estimate populations and collect data to inform conservation policies.
