Edinburgh Zoo giant anteater being treated for diabetes with human monitor
It's the first reported case in the species
A giant anteater at Edinburgh Zoo is being treated for diabetes - in what is believed to be a world first - with technology normally used for human patients.
The female, called Nala, has been fitted with a blood glucose monitor after displaying symptoms consistent with people who have the condition.
Diabetes has been detected in animals like dogs and cats, but there is no known case involving this species.
Dr Stephanie Mota, resident veterinary surgeon at RZSS said, “Keepers first discovered something was wrong when Nala was losing weight despite eating the same amount, or sometimes even more, than usual.
“We carried out a full health check under general anaesthetic, running lots of tests and found that Nala has type 1 diabetes.
“Our keepers did an amazing job quickly training Nala to take an insulin injection every day but the challenge for us was how to continuously monitor her blood glucose levels to ensure she was receiving the perfect dose.
“Taking bloods daily was not an option, and we did initially start monitoring the levels through urine samples but we decided to contact some companies who produced human glucose monitors to try and streamline the process, and find a way which would be the least invasive for Nala.
"Dexcom, leading providers of this technology, kindly donated the monitor to our charity and we were able to apply it during one of her training sessions, which now allows us to check her blood glucose levels through an app remotely.
"Due to her lovely personality, Nala is the ideal candidate for this technology which helps us, and her amazing team of keepers, manage her condition in the best possible way."