Student Name:Joshua Jacob

Article Title: Antibiotic Treatment and Post-Handling

Survival of Reindeer Calves in Alaska
Gregory S. Pietsch, Gregory L. Finstad, Julia S. bevins, and Alex K. Prichard

Each summer free ranging Reindeer on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska are gathered in
order to monitor their health, harvest antler velvet, and be provided vaccinations. These reindeer are
then returned back into the wild to range freely until the next summer.
Some of the reindeer handled of course are calves between the age of 4-6 weeks. Many of
these calves get infections soon after handling that are often fatal. It has oft been suggested that
antibiotics be used to counter this issue but there had been no specific research on it.
The researches aimed to determine the effectiveness of antibiotics given to reindeer calves
upon handling and whether or not they were a viable option to help lower the risk of infection.
The study was designed using reindeer owned by one L. Davis and was collected over the
summers of 1995 to 1997. The reindeer were marked and identified starting in the summers of 95
and 96. Data was collected on whether or not the reindeer returned. The reindeer were gathered in
groups of 800-2500 with calves held in main corrals while adults were removed. Injured calves were
identified and classified by the severity of their injuries and treated or not treated with antibiotics
accordingly. Calves that were handled more than once in the same year were used to determine
weight gain.
The study measured yearly return rates along with calf body mass for those handled in the
same year. The body weight was converted into a Z Score while return rate was determined by a
yes or no. These scores were coupled with whether or not the reindeer had been treated with the
LA-OTC antibiotic were used to determine return rate.
The only variables that were found to have relation to each other were those of Z-Score and return
rate. With an increasing Z score (meaning increased body weight within the same year) calves were
more likely to return. While the intended subject of research in the study, found that treated and
untreated calves were not significantly more or less likely to return the next year, returning at rates of
48.2% and 51.8% respectively.

This research largely put to death the idea of using antibiotics as a method to increase survival for
calves after injuries sustained during handling. When calves were injured antibiotic treatment gave
no assistance in their return rate and therefore more should be done to avoid injuries in the first
place.

The studys limitations were few with research spanning years and holding a relatively large
sample size. However one must be careful to only apply this research to reindeer in alaska as it has
been found that research on medication effect on animals is largely dependent on species along with
environment and unpredictable.