Mongoose rejoins troop after losing his scent thanks to Vicks VapoRub
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What do you do when a mongoose is ostracised from his troop because he doesn't smell like he used to, leaving him all alone?
That was the problem facing Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana, before they came up with an innovative solution.
Zookeepers decided that, instead of trying to return his original smell, they would use Vicks VapoRub to make all the mongooses smell the same - and they were able to reintegrate the lonely mongoose into the pack.
Zookeepers at Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana have used Vicks VapoRub to reintegrate a mongoose into a troop after he was kicked out for losing his scent. The method relied on the mongooses taking part in 'scent marking' (pictured), where they roll in a new scent to all smell the same
The problem started when one of the zoo's banded mongooses, one commonly found in Africa, had his medical checkup reports the zoo.
THE ORIGIN OF THE 'VAPORUB METHOD' FOR ANIMALS
Back in 2007 experts at Paultons Park near Romsey in Hampshire were concerned that their two existing meerkats would fight with three new arrivals when they were introduced to the family attraction.
So they came up with the plan to use the decongestant - known to millions of humans who want to ease their cold symptoms.
The product was put on the animals' noses and hid their scent long enough for all of them to get used to each other without any arguments.
Livestock manager Geoff Masson said: 'It is normally extremely difficult to integrate new meerkats into an existing group - their usual instinct is to try to attack any newcomers.
'However, thanks to a suggestion from our vet, Kate Chitty, we were able to neutralise all odours by using a little of the VapoRub on the nose of each meerkat.'
Upon his return the zookeepers found that the rest of his troop wasn't keen on him rejoining, despite him being the same mongoose.
This was because he smelled different; for mongooses, smell is a big indicator of identity in order to recognise each other.
Some of the other mongooses even became aggressive to him, leaving him lonely and without a troop.
That was when zookeeper Nancee Hutchinson found a unique solution.
Troops of mongooses are known to roll around in a smell in a process known as 'scent marking'.
This common tactic in the wild ensures members of a troop all smell the same.
So, with this in mind, Hutchinson put her plan into action.
'We bring them indoors and spray Vicks VapoRub on the floor,' she said.
'The whole troop comes running and rolls all around in it. Then they all smell the same, even the one who spent some time away.
Zookeeper Nancee Hutchinson's novel solution to use Vicks VapoRub (pictured) built on previous work at a UK zoo in 2007, where zookeepers had used the cough medicine to hide the scent of meerkats and allow them to integrate more easily. 'We bring them indoors and spray Vicks VapoRub on the floor,' said Hutchinson
The method has been used before at a zoo in Romsey, UK to get the same result with meerkats.
'When we spray Vicks inside the mongoose enclosure, the mongooses respond by scent-marking,' continued Hutchinson.
'They all roll around in the Vicks. This overrides any old smells that might have caused them to reject a member.'
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