Pohlin, FriederikeBuss, Peter ErikHooijberg, Emma HenrietteMeyer, Leith Carl Rodney2020-11-092020-11-092020-07Pohlin, F., Buss, P., Hooijberg, E.H. et al. 2020, 'Midazolam alters acid-base status less than azaperone during the capture and transport of Southern White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum)', Animals, vol. 10, no. 8, art. 1323, pp. 1-13.2076-2615 (online)10.3390/ani10081323http://hdl.handle.net/2263/76943Acidemia represents a major life-threatening factor during rhinoceros capture. The acid-base status during rhinoceros transport is unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe changes in acid-base status during rhinoceros capture and transport and compare these changes between rhinoceroses sedated with azaperone or midazolam. Twenty-three wild white rhinoceros bulls were road-transported 280 km for reasons unrelated to this study. Rhinoceroses were captured with etorphine-azaperone (Group A) or etorphine-midazolam (Group M). During transport, azaperone (Group A) or midazolam (Group M) was re-administered every 2 h and venous blood collected. Changes in blood pH and associated variables were compared over time and between groups using a general linear mixed model. Rhinoceroses of both groups experienced a respiratory and metabolic acidosis during capture (pH 7.109 ± 0.099 and 7.196 ± 0.111 for Group A and Group M, respectively) that was quickly compensated for by the start of transport (pH 7.441 ± 0.035 and 7.430 ± 0.057) and remained stable throughout the journey. Rhinoceroses from Group M showed a smaller decrease in pH and associated variables at capture than rhinoceroses from Group A (p = 0.012). The use of midazolam instead of azaperone could therefore improve the success of rhinoceros capture and thus, contribute to the outcome of important conservation translocations.en© 2020 by the authors. Licensee: MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).AcidosisAzaperoneMidazolamRhinocerosTranslocationHenderson-HasselbalchStewart’s approachWildlifeWhite rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)Article