Basic hematological values in some wild ruminants in captivity.

Analyses of hematological parameters were carried out on eight axis deer (Cervus axis), 12 fallow deer (Cervus dama), 16 red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus), three sambar (Cervus unicolor), nine Père David deer (Elaphurus davidianus), 20 European bison (Bison bonasus), seven nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), eight mouflon (Ovis musimon), four white-bearded gnu (Connochaetes taurinus) and six barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia). The following parameters were determined: packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, red blood cell number, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, leukocyte number and differential leukocyte count. Some degree of interspecific variability was found in the artiodactyls for these hematological parameters. An inverse relationship between mean corpuscular volume and red blood cell number is described, and specific values for these parameters are given for the four subfamilies.