Armen Brus ^1,2* Maureen Spinner ^2* Kim Thompson ^2,3 Tess Rooney ^3,4,5

• ¹ Texas A and M University, College Station, United States
• ² Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
• ³ Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, Michigan, United States
• ⁴ San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, California, United States
• ⁵ University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States

Veterinary intervention in zoological species can be complicated by species-specific social dynamics. African Wild Dogs are a pack species and removal or separation of an individual may disrupt established pack hierarchy resulting in conspecific aggression. Therefore, medical interventions that optimize a quick return to health are ideal to minimize the duration of absence from the pack. These principles were utilized for a three-year-old male intact zoo-housed African Wild Dog (AWD) that presented with an episode of severe, acute, right-sided facial swelling. Swelling initially responded to medical management, however six days later the facial swelling worsened. The AWD was anesthetized and required extensive debridement of necrotic tissue. The absence of deep bacteria on histopathologic evaluation and a negative bacterial culture was suggestive of envenomation. The resultant open wound was managed every other day with debridement and topical manuka honey covered with a tie-over bandage. Each wound therapy treatment required general anesthesia but resulted in a healthy granulation tissue bed nine days following initial debridement. Rather than proceeding with second intention healing and continued bandage changes, a transpositional skin flap surgical procedure was performed and enabled full closure of the large skin defect with complete tissue apposition and a good cosmetic outcome. The surgery reduced the number of anesthetic events and time that would have been required for second intention healing of the defect, which enabled a more rapid and ultimately successful reintegration of this individual into the pack without any perceived changes to the hierarchical structure.