A keeper at the Oklahoma City Zoo one day noticed that Eko, a Sumatran tiger, kept rubbing his face on the side of the fence, breaking all his whiskers.
A team started treating the tiger with antihistamines, but he continued to rub his face. Eventually, the staff partnered with a veterinary dermatologist who came out and performed skin allergy testing to see what Eko was reacting to.
While allergies in domesticated animals like dogs, cats, horses, and some birds are common, experts say there are few documented cases of allergies in the wild. It’s not clear whether that’s because wild animals are less susceptible to allergies than domesticated animals or whether scientists have not been able to observe wild animals closely for symptoms of allergies.
“It’s not as common as you would see in domestic dogs and cats, but it certainly does happen,” says Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino, DVM, DACZM, and chief animal program officer at the Oklahoma City Zoo. “Now that we have more advanced medicine and knowledge, I think it’s probably being diagnosed more than maybe it was in the past.”
Allergies for Zoo Animals
Several theories why animals don’t typically have allergies in the wild reference that animals are exposed to more environmental microbes and parasites and may develop stronger immune systems than animals that have been domesticated. Natural selection may also come into play: If animals have severe allergies, they might not survive long enough to breed.
That said, wild animals that reside in zoos do get diagnosed with allergies.
Eko received regular injections to desensitize him to the allergens, with the promise of his favorite treat.
“He did still have to have some antihistamines here or there if he had a flare-up, but the allergen therapy helped him out tremendously,” D’Agostino says. “His hair grew back, his whiskers grew back, and he wasn’t rubbing his face anymore.” Eko was eventually transferred to the Akron Zoo, where he is doing well.
D’Agostino attributed Eko’s allergies in part to his location. “Oklahoma has a lot of allergens,” she says. “Even for the humans who live in Oklahoma, it’s a very allergenic state.”
In addition, some wild animals in zoos have been bred under human care and over time, might become susceptible to allergies through genetic drift. Finally, the animals in zoos are watched closely, so symptoms of illness become apparent quickly.
“Our keepers are very attuned,” D’Agostino says. “They know these animals incredibly well.”
Read More: Pets Have Seasonal Allergies Too, Like Itchy Paws and Watery Eyes
The Environment and Treating Allergies
D’Agostino sees allergies more often in carnivores and in birds than other species and thinks environment plays an important role.
“They’ve evolved in their particular region of the world, and they may not have come into contact with a specific [allergen], so maybe their immune system is not used to that,” she says. “They’re exposed to grasses and plants that they would never come across in their native habitat.”
D’Agostino is also currently overseeing treatment for the allergies of a jaguar named Zia and two elephants. Zia was licking herself and developing hotspots from itchiness. The veterinary dermatologist determined that Zia was allergic to fleas and mosquitos and put her on two different flea medications, allergy shots, and sprayed her environment for fleas.
The Oklahoma City Zoo also had two Asian elephants on allergy therapy for pollen and grasses: Kairavi and her aunt, Chandra. Because of their thick skin, testing for skin allergies was not possible, but the zoo performed blood allergy tests. When they retested, only Kairavi was still reactive, and she is still on oral allergy therapy.
Dr. Kadie Anderson, DVM, the associate veterinarian at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, is also treating four animals with allergies: two beavers, a polar bear, and a Nigerian dwarf goat. She thinks part of the reason cases in the wild are rare is because scientists generally aren’t observing these animals.
“The allergies may not be obvious in an animal that’s living out in the wild,” Anderson says. “We have our staff biologists really closely watching and working with these animals.”
Symptoms of allergies she sees include itchiness, runny eyes, crusty skin, and recurrent ear infections. She’s currently treating a beaver at the zoo named Nutmeg and her partner, Walnut and overseeing the care of Astra, a polar bear that was displaying itchiness. The veterinary dermatologists found that she was allergic to trees, leaves, yeast, mites, insects, and dogs. Astra’s keepers are currently training her to accept administration of immunotherapy under her tongue.
Other animals that have been treated for allergies in zoos include black leopards and pteropid bats, according to studies in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine.
“As our climate changes and as the weather changes, I think we’re going to see plants potentially flower for longer periods of time, or they might be releasing pollen for long periods of time,” Anderson says.
Read More: Why Do We Have Allergies?
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