Publicação
Retrospective study on gastrointestinal parasites of 28 felidae from the Barcelona Zoo, from 1990 to 2024
| Resumo: | Zoos have become valuable in the maintenance and breeding of a variety of wild animals, amongst them vulnerable and critically endangered species, thus working towards their conservation and prevention from extinction. This great responsibility of housing such valuable animals includes the prevention and curing of diseases, as housing animals away from their natural habitats involves the control of several predisposing conditions that facilitate disease and infections, sometimes from agents that are not present in their natural habitat, and against which the animal is not able to defend itself. Parasitic infections have been reported in many different zoos and are a big influence in the health of animals in these establishments. Their prevention and management are essential for the animals’ wellbeing. Four species of Felidae from the Barcelona Zoo were investigated for gastrointestinal parasite load, from March 1990 to February 2024. The study consisted on the retrospective analysis of the Zoo’s database regarding the parasites of twelve Southern African lions (Panthera leo melanochaita), four jaguars (Panthera onca), seven Sri Lankan leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) and five Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae). The parasites present in the faecal samples (n=143) in these Felidae, in the given timespan, were Toxascaris leonina (16%), Cystoisospora spp. (2%) and other unspecified parasites: Coccidia (8%), nematodes (3%), Toxocaridae (2%), sporulated (1%) and non-sporulated oocysts (1%) and flagellates (1%). Also, in the serum of some tested Sumatran tigers, Toxoplasma gondii (80%, n=5) was detected. The parasitic presence was compared and discussed for each animal species. It was also compared for the four different seasons of the year, as well as its evolution throughout the years. The parasitic prevalence was higher during summer for the Southern African lions, during autumn for the jaguars and the Sri Lankan leopards, and during winter for the Sumatran tigers. The agreement level between flotation and direct method techniques’ sensitivity, to detect parasites in the Zoo’s Felidae, was evaluated in this study, with the conclusion that flotation techniques were more sensitive in detecting positive samples, showing 84% sensitivity, whereas direct methods were only 48% sensitive |
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| Autores principais: | Ocando, Daniela Patrízia Gonçalves |
| Assunto: | Faecal analysis Panthera spp. Gastrointestinal parasites Seasonality Zoological Gardens Análise fecal Panthera spp. Parasitas gastrointestinais Sazonalidade Jardins Zoológicos |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso embargado |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | Zoos have become valuable in the maintenance and breeding of a variety of wild animals, amongst them vulnerable and critically endangered species, thus working towards their conservation and prevention from extinction. This great responsibility of housing such valuable animals includes the prevention and curing of diseases, as housing animals away from their natural habitats involves the control of several predisposing conditions that facilitate disease and infections, sometimes from agents that are not present in their natural habitat, and against which the animal is not able to defend itself. Parasitic infections have been reported in many different zoos and are a big influence in the health of animals in these establishments. Their prevention and management are essential for the animals’ wellbeing. Four species of Felidae from the Barcelona Zoo were investigated for gastrointestinal parasite load, from March 1990 to February 2024. The study consisted on the retrospective analysis of the Zoo’s database regarding the parasites of twelve Southern African lions (Panthera leo melanochaita), four jaguars (Panthera onca), seven Sri Lankan leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) and five Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae). The parasites present in the faecal samples (n=143) in these Felidae, in the given timespan, were Toxascaris leonina (16%), Cystoisospora spp. (2%) and other unspecified parasites: Coccidia (8%), nematodes (3%), Toxocaridae (2%), sporulated (1%) and non-sporulated oocysts (1%) and flagellates (1%). Also, in the serum of some tested Sumatran tigers, Toxoplasma gondii (80%, n=5) was detected. The parasitic presence was compared and discussed for each animal species. It was also compared for the four different seasons of the year, as well as its evolution throughout the years. The parasitic prevalence was higher during summer for the Southern African lions, during autumn for the jaguars and the Sri Lankan leopards, and during winter for the Sumatran tigers. The agreement level between flotation and direct method techniques’ sensitivity, to detect parasites in the Zoo’s Felidae, was evaluated in this study, with the conclusion that flotation techniques were more sensitive in detecting positive samples, showing 84% sensitivity, whereas direct methods were only 48% sensitive |
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