BIAZA Newsletter | Winter 2017 | Issue 13

VACCINATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY Robovacc By Tony Cholerton, ZSL London Zoo

Here at ZSL London Zoo, we recently had young female tiger, Cinta, present us with a problem that I had the opportunity to deal with in a rather unique way. Cinta was born to Melati, a strong-minded tiger who took it upon herself to keep the cubs outside for long periods at a time. Whilst this was good in terms of acquainting her young to their outdoor surroundings, it had the down side of setting back our training programme somewhat. Other factors also limited the amount of time that we were able to spend with the tigers, such as the new Land of the Lions exhibit being built. Despite these challenges we were able to train all the tigers to come inside during the morning and all were comfortable going on to our training board. However, Cinta would only move on to the board after we had vacated the vicinity. This was a real problem because her annual vaccination was due and we were running out of ideas. We looked at the options that were available to us. Firstly, darting Cinta, which arguably was the easiest option but the downside of this would be that it would have a negative impact on the training of the rest of the tigers. Whilst hand injection could have been an option had Cinta’s training been advanced enough, we knew she was not ready for this. Finally, remote vaccination was considered; it would be difficult but it would ultimately solve our problem. Cinta’s position on the board was good enough for me to believe there was potential for vaccinating her remotely. In the past, I used to make model aeroplanes and for a few years I was a motorbike mechanic so I have some useful skills

and still had technology that I could use at home. This knowledge coupled with materials I already had ultimately led to the development of Robovacc. How does it work? By using a wireless video camera I was able to send live footage to a tablet which allowed me to monitor Cinta and operate Robovacc remotely using a radio control system. This meant that all I had to do was work on getting Cinta into exactly the right position so I could vaccinate her from outside the building. Whilst the whole thing sounded relatively straight forward I understandably had to get permission to do this work from my team leader at ZSL, the curator and our zoo vets. I therefore needed to convince them that I could build Robovacc to a high standard. Over the years, I have built up a good reputation for solving some difficult problems so I was able to talk them into letting me try. It began with the development of working prototypes - the first was made of wood and bits and pieces but demonstrated that my idea was feasible. The second was good enough to demonstrate to the vets and they gave their approval to go ahead with the project. Finally, Robovacc 3 worked well and we were able to vaccinate Cinta without having to tranquilise her first. Following the success of Robovacc I am now working on Autovacc, an updated version which should allow us to vaccinate animals outside in their enclosures. I am hoping to test Autovacc next on our Asiatic lions and if successful it will pave the way for remotely vaccinating animals in the wild.

Photos: Tony Cholerton and Kate Sanders

Photos: Tony Cholerton and Kate Sanders

13 BIAZA News • Winter issue 13