Haematology and biochemistry of warru ( P etrogale lateralis M ac D onnell R anges race) in captivity and the wild

Objective Use haematology, biochemistry and protein electrophoresis analyses to establish reference values for, and describe the health status of, wild and captive colonies of critically endangered warru (black‐footed rock‐wallaby: P etrogale lateralis M ac D onnell Ranges race). Methods Blood samples were taken from warru in three wild colonies ( A lalka, K alka, N ew W ell) in the A n angu P itjantjatjara Y ankunytjatjara L ands in north‐west S outh A ustralia ( SA ) and from captive animals at M onarto Z oo, SA . General haematology, serum biochemistry and protein electrophoresis analyses were conducted and results used to establish reference ranges. For the parameters that are indicative of a population's health, comparisons among the study sites were completed using analysis of variance. Results General haematology results suggested that warru were not experiencing chronic anaemia and the protein electrophoresis values indicated that colonies were not suffering from population‐wide disease. However, the lower superoxide dismutase, retinol, total carotenoids and ascorbic acid values for N ew W ell warru suggested those animals had a lower plane of nutrition than those at Kalka and Alalka. Higher urea concentrations in N ew W ell and A lalka warru could be a reflection of the absence of reliable free water at these sites. Conclusion The results have implications for the management of in situ colonies, including potentially using supplementary feeding to improve nutrition, and suggested that these animals were not suffering from disease. The study presents the first blood reference values for P . lateralis and, potentially, a methodology for other threatened species recovery programs to follow to establish the health of their populations.