Truemors
For humans we can go to the blood bank for our blood samples to be taken in a stress free way, that is sometimes you don't even feel the pain. But how about animals both dangerous and large? Well don't tell me that you can go to Mr Lion and make him lay down for his blood to be taken without any fight. Rest assure Vets at London Zoo are pioneering a technique to take blood samples from animals like Mr Lion using a small bug, At least they will be alright with bugs.
By using an insect called a Mexican Kissing Bug, they can collect a sample without the need for an injection. Because the bug releases its own anaesthetic, the whole process is considered less stressful for the animal.
One of the zoo's vets, Tim Bouts, says: "This means that we can take a stress-free blood sample from an animal that we otherwise would need to sedate or anaesthetise. The process is non-invasive and painless for the animal."
He adds, "It might take somewhere between 10-30 minutes to get a decent sample dependent on how hungry the bug is, how quickly it finds a blood capillary and how thick the skin of its host is."
The bugs are bred at a laboratory in Germany, in controlled conditions to ensure they don't carry diseases that could infect the animals.
Once they've sucked as much as they can, the blood is removed from the bugs using a needle.
The Mexican Kissing bug originates in the deserts of South West Mexico. Food is often scarce for them, so they feed quickly and whenever possible. This makes them ideal insects for the London Zoo project.
It's thought that they might also be able to collect blood samples from small animals where veins are inaccessible.
The pilot project has seen blood collected from a hippo, cheetah, giraffe, elephant and white rhino.
After the blood samples are collected the bugs are humanely killed.
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