A Brazilian Tapir's Bathroom Accident
 Nell
is a six-year old Brazilian Tapir (an endangered species) living in a zoo.
She looks like a large pig with dark skin and a long mobile
nose. She lives in a muddy pen, with a den which is warm and dark like her
native rain forest. Bright sunlight would be blinding, so she can retreat to her
den at any time.
Awkward fall
Finishing in her sunken bath one day, she leapt over the
sidewall to go back to her hut.
She’d done this many times before, but something went wrong
this time. Perhaps she caught a leg on the wall, and twisted her hips. The staff
were not at all sure what had happened.
Initially Nell had been unable to walk. Staff had fetched the
vet who had prescribed painkillers. He said it was more a problem in her back
than her legs.
Since then, Nell had been walking awkwardly with obvious pain.
Some of the staff who had horses, recognised it as similar to their horses
putting their backs out. The zoo’s owner, who has had chiropractic treatment
himself, suggested Vav have a look. However, the vet wanted to continue with the
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.
When Vav was first approached, she asked that the zoo’s vet
gave permission before she looked at Nell, as this is a legal requirement in
this country. After four months, the problem was still present, and the zoo’s
owner insisted that Vav checked Nell’s back, to which the vet agreed.
 Thick-skinned
creature
Vav found Nell in her den, standing quiet and still. She
palpated Nell’s spine with difficulty as the skin on the back of a Tapir is
extremely thick. Vav said it was a bit like feeling through a Fireman’s coat!
This is a genetic characteristic to protect Tapirs from
predators like jaguars and crocodiles biting them.
With her years of experience, Vav was able to ‘tune in’ and
feel the vertebrae, and found quite a number out of alignment. Adjusting
thoracic and lumbar vertebrae then led to adjusting the pelvis and the sacro-iliac
joint.
 As
she usually would, Vav then massaged the soft tissue around the areas she had
adjusted, to help the muscles and tendons get used to their new positions.
Massage also helps blood flow, to carry oxygen to the area, and toxins away.
Again, because of the thick skin, this was hard work, but Nell seemed to enjoy
it!
Immediately, Nell could walk freely. As she moved around the
pen, after the first treatment, Vav could see she was more upright in action and
tracking better. But she was still carrying her left hind slightly in toward the
centre-line of her body.
Second visit
In the follow-up treatment a week later, Nell was more active,
and seemed more comfortable. Staff reported she was moving freely with very
little sign of lameness.
 Vav
found her lying down in her den. The keeper got her up and Vav said “Hello You”
and gave her a scratch. She turned her head very slowly – everything Tapirs do
seems slow – and examined Vav.
The keeper said “Watch out Vav she is going down”. Vav moved
out to the way and was surprised and amused to see her roll onto her back and
lift her hind-leg like a Labrador, asking to get its belly scratched. So Vav
obliged!
Nell got up and was more willing to join Vav outside for the
second treatment. Vav saw that her posture had improved, and the misalignment
through her spine was better with only a few adjustments being needed.
 After
this, Nell was moving about more quickly and freely, with her gait and posture
returned pretty much to normal.
Advising prevention
Thinking about Nell’s future to prevent a repeat of this
lameness, Vav asked about the design of the pool. Staff said a new pen was being
planned and so a truly sunken pool with no walls was a good idea.
Also, it seemed likely that a contributing factor has been the
layout of her den. With both the heater and the door at one end of her den, it
is likely that she has always lain facing them for the 4 years she has been
there.
This asymmetry probably made it more likely for Nellie’s
hindleg to suffer. Vav advised that a more symmetrical design in her new den
would be better for her health in the long-term. |
