Vol. 10, Special Issue 11 (2021)

Author(s):
M Veeraselvam, P Selvaraj, S Senthil Kumar, A Senthilkumar, TMA Senthilkumar, C Sreekumar and R Jyothi Priya

Abstract:
Haematological parameters are very much essential for health assessment and disease diagnosis of captive elephants. Regional specific haematological profile are valuable in health care planning for captive elephants. The aim of this study was to assess and evolve the baseline reference values for haematological parameters in captive Asian elephants raised in the Tamil Nadu state of India. As part of the periodical health assessment, blood samples were collected from auricular vein for 46 apparently healthy captive Asian elephants maintained in Tamil Nadu, India. In this study it was fund that the overall mean values of haemoglobin was 12.69±0.25 g/dL, packed cell volume was 36.10±0.74%, red blood cells was 2.92±0.05 x 10⁶/cmm and white blood cells was 13.31±0.40 x 10³/cmm. Differential count of white blood cells showed that heterophils were the most predominant cell by observed cells (40.39±1.23%) which was followed by lymphocytes (36.52±1.42%), monocytes (20.43±1.18%), eosinophils (1.04±0.23%) and basophils (0.02±0.02%). The mean values of erythrocyte indices were MCV 124.43±2.14fl, MCH 44.00±6.9pg and MCHC 35.63±0.83 g/dL. Most of the ranges of haematological values observed in this study were similar to that of previous reports. These haematological values would serve as baseline reference to evaluate the health and clinical conditions of captive elephant populations, as well as for planning health care measures in elephants of this region and adjoining areas.