Sacramento Zoo kangaroo treated at UC Davis veterinary hospital but will be OK
A Sacramento Zoo kangaroo was treated at the UC Davis veterinary hospital this week after x-rays showed abnormalities, but the zoo’s head veterinarian was “very relieved” to find that the issues were not as serious as they initially appeared.
Brodie, a 10-year-old female, had to go to the hospital after the zoo’s veterinarian team found “several abnormalities” in a chest x-ray during her annual check-up, including a suspected mass near her heart, according to a university news release.
Further tests from veterinary specialists at UC Davis found there was no mass in Brodie’s chest but instead, “some minor abnormalities in her lungs, a small nodule in her heart, and an abnormal esophagus.”
“This is great news for Brodie,” Dr. Jenessa Gjeltema, chief of zoological medicine service at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the Sacramento Zoo’s head veterinarian, said in the news release. “We were very relieved that what appeared to be a potential mass in her chest on the initial radiographs (x-rays) was due to these less concerning abnormalities.”
Brodie shares her yard in the zoo’s new Australia Exhibit, which opened this year, with two male kangaroos and a pair of emus.
The Sacramento Zoo reopened to the public in January after more than a month of closure due to tightened COVID-19 restrictions. Trainers and veterinarians, of course, continued to take care of the animals during that time.
“Discovering this abnormality is a good example of why we do the yearly exams,” Melissa McCartney, a senior animal care manager at the zoo, said in a prepared comment. “We would not have known about this otherwise since she presents no symptoms.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 1:10 PM.
