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Koedoe 19: 179-180 (l976) 

A CASE OF ABOMASAL IMPACTION IN A 
CAPTIVE GIRAFFE (GIRAFFA CAMELOPARDALIS) 

D. V. GRADWELL 
S tate Veterinarian 
Department of Veterinary Services 
Skukuza 
JJ50 

Introduction 

A male giraffe calf was brought into the experimental pens at Skukuza 
after being found on its own in poor condition in the Kruger National 
Park, Republic of South Africa. The mother of the calf could not be 
traced. 

The giraffe was fed on full cream powdered milk and given dry 
lucerne, used to feed all other herbivores in the bomas. The lucerne was 
placed on a wooden board on top of a normal bovine feeding rack, 
approximately two metres above ground. The giraffe was also part of an 
experiment to determine the susceptibility of a number of species to 
heartwater and had been injected with positive heartwater blood 18 days 
before it died. The enclosure had an earth floor but the giraffe was 
penned at night in a stall with bedding on a concrete floor, as a pro-
tection against predators. Shade consisted of a number of knob thorn 
(Acacia nigrescens) trees in the enclosure. The leaves of these trees were 
soon consumed to the maximum reach of the giraffe. It was noticed that 
the animal then started grazing on grass which had sprouted after very 
good rains . The giraffe would lower its head to graze, after spreading 
and bending the forelegs in the same procedure as is normally followed 
for drinking. 

The tongue was used for grazing as when browsing. The grass was 
collected into the mouth and pulled upward by a jerk of the head. Due 
to the damp soil the entire root systems of tussocks were uprooted. 
Leaves, stems, roots and soil adherring to the roots were masticated and 
swallowed. 

No treatment was given to the giraffe when noticed to be ill. This coin-
cided with the expected reaction to the artificial infection with heart-
water. Symptoms of anorexia and general apathy were at first presumed 
to be a reaction to the disease. No fever developed, and the animal died 
during the night after symptoms were first noticed. 

Discussion 

Post-mortem examination revealed slight ascites but no other typical 
heartwater lesions were observed. Brain smears stained with Giemsa 
revealed no organisms of Cowdria ruminantium in endothelial cells. The 

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abomasal contents were extremely dry and consisted of a number of 
roughly circular five cm diameter bolus-like conglomerates of lucerne, 
gravel and sand. One such bolus was situated at the pylorus and com-
pletely blocked the lumen. This particular bolus did not break up after 
dropping onto a concrete slab from a height of approximately one 
metre. The rumen, reticulum and omasum were well filled with ingesta 
but the remainder of the in testinal canal, except for normal pellets in 
the final '15 cm of rectum, was empty. A diagnosis of abomasal im-
paction was made. 

Conclusion 

Cases of a similar nature are not unknown and grazing is fairly 
common in captive giraffe with insufficient green feed. In the case of 
giraffe in captivity or in quarantine camps before relocation, an ade-
quate supply of suitable green foliage should be supplied . If this is not 
available, care should be taken to prevent fresh, highly palatable grass 
from sprouting in such pens which will produce an abnormal habit of 
grazing in the giraffe and a real danger of severe losses. Surgical inter-
vention, however, could be attempted after diagnosis but a knowledge of 
this danger will make preventive measures more effective. 

Acknowledgements 

Thanks are due to the Director of Veterinary Services, Department of 
Agricultural Technical Services for permission to publish this article 
and the Director of Nature Conservation, National Parks Board of 
Trustees for criticising the manuscript. 

180 


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