Cholesterol concentrations in free-ranging gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and (Gorilla beringei) and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Citation

Schmidt DA, Ellersieck MR, Cranfield MR, Karesh WB. 2005. Cholesterol concentrations in free-ranging gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and (Gorilla beringei) and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). In Graffam W, Hellinga D, Maslanka M, Ward A, Eds. Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Omaha, NE.

Abstract

Cholesterol concentrations in captive gorillas and orangutans vary widely within species and average approximately 244 mg/dl for gorillas and 169 mg/dl for orangutans as previously published. The International Species Inventory System reports higher concentrations of 275 and 199 mg/dl for gorillas and orangutans, respectively. It is unknown if these values were typical and/or were influenced by captive management. To answer this question, banked serum samples from free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei), western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were analyzed for concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoproteins, and low density lipoproteins.

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