ZooTampa at Lowry Park has introduced acupuncture therapy into its veterinary care program for animals with complex medical conditions.
The treatment can be used alongside traditional veterinary medicine to help stimulate nerves, improve blood flow and encourage the body’s natural pain-management and healing responses.
The initiative is led by Dr. Alex Mason, a ZooTampa staff veterinarian who is certified in veterinary acupuncture.
“Acupuncture provides us with the ability to enhance overall patient care by incorporating a holistic and highly individualized treatment approach to the animals in our care,” Mason said. “Most often, we are incorporating it for cases to improve healing and rehabilitation times, stimulate nerve function and improve comfort and quality of life for the species in our care. Long term, we hope to continue applying this therapy as new cases arise that we feel could benefit from this.”
Animal acupuncture is similar to acupuncture used in human medicine, Mason said, with many veterinary acupuncture points adapted from human acupuncture points. The treatment can be used to address similar conditions in animals.
Mason said she is aware of a few other zoos that provide acupuncture therapy, but the availability of the treatment depends on each facility.
“A majority of zoos typically do not have a certified veterinary acupuncturist on staff, but can still choose to incorporate this treatment modality on a case-by-case basis by reaching out to a certified veterinary or human acupuncturist,” Mason said.
At ZooTampa, acupuncture will be used alongside traditional veterinary medicine, physical therapy and other treatments when appropriate.
Several animals at the zoo have already started receiving acupuncture therapy, and zoo officials said they have seen improvements in some of the animals.
Early Grey, a 14-year-old black-bellied whistling duck, experienced sudden weakness in his right leg. His treatment included supportive care, fluids, vitamins, pain management and electroacupuncture.
After his first treatment, Grey showed improved movement and posture. Following his third session, the zoo saw improvements in his coordination, strength and ability to walk.
A roseate spoonbill chick that was hospitalized for a leg injury also received electroacupuncture along with traditional medicine and physical therapy. Zoo officials said the chick regained normal function in the injured leg.
Sloth, a manatee, arrived at ZooTampa with a chronic condition that caused severe nerve injury to one side of his face. While chronic nerve injuries can be difficult to treat, the zoo said staff have started to observe mild improvements after he received acupuncture.
While the treatment has already helped several animals, Mason said she hopes the care team can continue applying acupuncture therapy across species at the zoo to improve the comfort, recovery and quality of life of the animals in its care.