BearBio
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2025
- Messages
- 368
When I took my "Animal Capture and Chemical Restraint" course about 1997, we were trained to use Carfentanil to knock out things like elephants & rhinos!! It was the drug used in one of the Jurassic Park movies to knock out the T-Rex. We had to have a paramedic present with a syringe of the antagonist (antidote) already loaded!
"Chosen for its high therapeutic index, carfentanil was first sold in 1986 under the brand name "Wildnil" for use in combination with an α2-receptor agonist as a tranquilizing agent for large ungulates, elephants, and large carnivores. Commercial production of Wildnil ceased in 2003; the drug is now available only in compounded form and not available for veterinary use due to human abuse. Since then, etorphine (AKA M-99) has become the standard tranquilizing agent for large mammals, with diprenorphine as the preferred reversal agent. Diprenorphine was also used previously to reverse the effects of carfentanil."
For comparison, I used etorphine to take down a large bull elk in about 1 1/2 minutes! We considered it too dangerous to use on black bears up to 425 lbs.
"Carfentanil, a weapons-grade chemical that authorities say is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl, has seen a drastic resurgence across the U.S., killing hundreds of unsuspecting drug users."
A misapplication can kill a human being in less that 2 minutes!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/weapons-grade-chemical-carfentanil-surges-035752252.html
"Chosen for its high therapeutic index, carfentanil was first sold in 1986 under the brand name "Wildnil" for use in combination with an α2-receptor agonist as a tranquilizing agent for large ungulates, elephants, and large carnivores. Commercial production of Wildnil ceased in 2003; the drug is now available only in compounded form and not available for veterinary use due to human abuse. Since then, etorphine (AKA M-99) has become the standard tranquilizing agent for large mammals, with diprenorphine as the preferred reversal agent. Diprenorphine was also used previously to reverse the effects of carfentanil."
For comparison, I used etorphine to take down a large bull elk in about 1 1/2 minutes! We considered it too dangerous to use on black bears up to 425 lbs.
"Carfentanil, a weapons-grade chemical that authorities say is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl, has seen a drastic resurgence across the U.S., killing hundreds of unsuspecting drug users."
A misapplication can kill a human being in less that 2 minutes!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/weapons-grade-chemical-carfentanil-surges-035752252.html