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Arnemo, J.M.; Linnell, J.D.C.; Wedul, S.J.; Ranheim, B.; Odden, J.; Andersen, R.
Use of intraperitoneal radio-transmitters in lynx _Lynx lynx_ kittens: anaesthesia, surgery and behaviour
1999 Wildlife Biology (5): 245-250
The suitability of intraperitoneally implanted radio-transmitters asa a method for studying young lynx kittens are tested under field conditions. Radio-marked adult females were followed to the lair where they kept their kittens. In 1997 and 1998, nine kittens (4-5 weeks old) were located. One of two implant models (7g and 20g) were implanted using surgical procedures and a combination of medetomidin (0.08 mg/kg) and ketamine (5mg/kg) for anaesthesia. No complications occurred during the operations. All kittens were accepted again by their mother and were moved to a new lair within 1 km. All survived at least three months after operation. In all of these cases the implants were floating freely in the peritoneal cavity. Based on these results it appears that intraperitoneal implanting of radio-transmitters is a very useful method for studying very young lynx kittens, and could be used for most felids of a similar, or larger, size.
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