Zoo vet accidentally shoots zoo employee in gorilla suit

Must have been a realistic gorilla suit.

What tranquilizer do they use on primates. It must not usually be fatal to humans unlike the one used on ungulates.
 
Monty said:
Must have been a realistic gorilla suit.

What tranquilizer do they use on primates. It must not usually be fatal to humans unlike the one used on ungulates.
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if it was fatal to humans then it would probably be equally fatal to gorillas don't you think?

This is a really weird story and I can't decide if it is a hoax or real. I know I wouldn't want to be taken down with the quantity of tranquiliser needed for a male gorilla!!
 
It's not just the quantity/dosage (which is usually higher than the ones used for humans); some veterinary anaesthetics used for tranquilizing great apes such as zolazepam or xylazine shouldn't actually be used on humans at all.
http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/4/245.full.pdf?origin=publication_detail
http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/4/305.full.pdf

So much about "must not usually be fatal to humans".
I therefore guess that the poor keeper didn't show an allergic reaction, but rather signs of intoxication.

"the one used on ungulates" I guess you mean Etorphine (M99), an ultrapotent opoid, which is used for immobilizing larger mammal species (and not consequently all ungulate species, and most certainly not great apes). If the antidote is not administered correctly and quickly, even small dosage of M99 can indeed kill humans.
 
The only one I have been involved with, as it is used on deer is xylazine, and we were told it is fatal to humans.

I thought xylazine would also kill Apes, but by your info it may be what they used.
 
To quote Paracelsus: "The dose makes the poison." Xylazine doesn't automatically kill humans in every dosage, but due to the mentioned negative effects it can have on humans, it doesn't surprise that it's one of the drugs often used by vets trying to commit suicide.

Deer can be sedated using xylazine, but also with other veterinary transquilizers (and usually in combination with other drugs such as ketamine for a more balanced effect).
 
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