Comparative studies of the respiratory functions of mammalian blood. VIII. Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and African elephant (Loxodonta africana africana)

Respiratory characteristics of blood from four Asian and three African elephants were studied. Oxygen dissociation curves of whole blood were constructed at 37 °C and corrected to a plasma pH of 7.40. The mean blood P50 values were 25.2 ± 0.5 and 23.2 ± 1.3 mm Hg for Asian and African elephants, respectively, and these values are significantly different (p<0.01). The Bohr factors for both species were similar and averaged -0.351 ± 0.029 Δ log PO2/ΔpH. The Haldane effect was similar in both species (5.5 vol% ΔCCO2 at PCO2 = 40 mm Hg). The concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in elephant blood is similar to that found in normal human blood. The blood morphology of both species was similar except that the leukocyte count was significantly higher in Asian elephants. Starch gel electrophoresis showed that hemoglobin of Asian elephants travels at a slower rate than hemoglobin of African elephants, but both migrate faster than human A hemoglobin. African elephant (Loxodontu africuna africana) Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) Blood oxygen capacity Bohr effect Haldane effect Hemoglobin electrophoresis Oxygen dissociation curve 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG)