COMPARISON OF KETAMINE–DEXMEDETOMIDINE AND KETAMINE–DEXMEDETOMIDINE–MIDAZOLAM PROTOCOLS FOR ANESTHESIA IN FREE-RANGING CANADA LYNX (LYNX CANADENSIS)

) is an emblematic species of the boreal forest. Few studies are available regarding anesthetic protocols for this species. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two IM anesthetic protocols consisting of 4 mg/kg ketamine and 0.025 mg/kg dexmedetomidine (KD) or 2 mg/kg ketamine, 0.025 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, and 0.1 mg/kg midazolam (KDM) on free-ranging Canada lynx undergoing noninvasive procedures. Fifteen adult Canada lynx (eight males, seven females, weighing from 8.54 to 13 kg) were anesthetized with either the KD protocol (n = 8) or the KDM protocol (n = 7) after being captured using cage traps or foot snares. Reversal was provided with 0.25 mg/kg atipamezole IM. Time to induction was similar between protocols (6 ± 3 min). Time to sternal recumbency for lynx anesthetized with KDM (mean = 4.3 min, range = 0-6 min) was significantly shorter than for lynx anesthetized with KD (mean = 7.9 min, range = 2-13 min). A tendency for shorter recovery time was observed in lynx anesthetized with KDM (13.7 ± 10.3 min) compared with lynx from the KD group (24.6 ± 9.0 min). Total anesthesia duration was set around 45 min for both protocols (43.5 ± 6.3 min) to allow the ketamine to be metabolized before injecting the reversal agent. No differences were observed between protocols regarding the different physiological parameters evaluated, which stayed within the accepted range throughout anesthesia. Though both protocols provided a safe and stable anesthesia, the shorter time to sternal recumbency of the KDM protocol was seen as an advantage for brief field immobilizations.