Edinburgh Zoo monitor UK's first diabetic giant anteater with blood glucose monitor usually used on humans

One of Edinburgh Zoo’s giant anteaters has been fitted with a blood glucose monitor usually used on humans, after being diagnosed with diabetes.

The vets and keepers at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) diagnosed the first reported case of diabetes in a giant anteater, and are now managing the condition.

The female named Nala appeared on the BBC Scotland series, Inside the Zoo, earlier this year, exhibiting the same symptoms humans do before being diagnosed with diabetes.

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.”

While the condition is known to occur in domestic cats, dogs and in tamandua in the wild, no other cases have been reported in giant anteaters.

Ms Mota continued: “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.

Nala the giant anteater wearing her Dexcom blood glucose monitor, which helps Edinburgh Zoo vets and keepers manage her diabetes. (Photo credit: RZSS)

“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.”

The RZSS team recently won a bronze award at the British Association for Zoos and Aquariums awards for their efforts in animal husbandry, care and breeding, as well as for their work in managing Nala’s condition.