A Florida zoo employee was rushed to the hospital Friday after possibly coming in contact with saliva from an antelope that had been drugged with a potent opioid during a procedure.
The team member at Zoo Miami — the Sunshine State’s largest animal park — suddenly fell ill while assisting with a “routine immobilization procedure to prepare a greater kadu antelope for transfer to another facility,” the zoo shared on Instagram.
Zoo officials have not confirmed what caused the worker to become unwell but advised the antelope was administered with immobilization drugs, including thiafentanil — a highly potent opioid that is a member of the fentanyl family.
Thiafentanil, which is an injectable solution, is listed as “not for humans” by the Federal Drug Administration and must be “handled with extreme caution to avoid accidental exposure.”
If exposed to the potent drug, humans may experience dizziness, nausea, respiratory depression and lowered blood pressure — and in the most extreme cases, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest, the FDA advises.
“Out of an abundance of caution and given the potential for inadvertent dermal exposure to the drug through contact with the animal’s saliva, the employee was administered Narcan and transported to Jackson South Medical Center for further evaluation and observation,” the zoo wrote.
The animal park confirmed the worker is currently in stable condition but remains under medical observation.
Zoo Miami noted the employee first started experiencing symptoms while they were “helping secure the animal’s head following immobilization, allowing the zoo veterinarian to conduct the necessary tests as part of the animal’s pre-shipment examination.”
It remains unclear how the worker may have inadvertently ingested some of the drugged saliva — but the FDA urges people to “use safe technique by working in pairs, wearing disposable latex gloves, and wearing eye protection” while handling the drug.
Animals at zoos are typically immobilized to perform medical care, transport animals to other facilities, safely conduct diagnostic tests or to manage emergency escapes by either physical restraint or chemical sedation, according to MixLab.
The Post reached out to Zoo Miami for further comment.
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