ABSTRACT
Fecal samples from the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and the Amur cat (Felis bengalensis euptilurus) from Far Eastern Russia, were examined for parasites. A natural sedimentation methodology was used and a complete examination of all the sediment was performed. This fecal investigation allowed us to isolate and identify several developmental stages of gastrointestinal, hepatic, and respiratory parasites. Five parasites were found from P. t. altaica: 11 trematodes (Platynosomum fastosum) and 4 nematodes (Strongyloides sp., Ancylostomatidae, Toxascaris leonina, and Toxocara cati). Five parasites were found from F. b. euptilurus: 1 cestode (Diplopylidium sp.) and 4 nematodes (Trichuris sp., Ancylostomatidae, Toxascaris leonina, and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus). In addition, trophozoites of the amoeba Acanthamoeba sp. were detected in tiger feces.
Subject(s)
Feces/parasitology , Felis/parasitology , Parasitic Diseases, Animal/parasitology , Tigers/parasitology , Animals , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/parasitology , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/veterinary , Liver Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology , Liver Diseases, Parasitic/parasitology , Liver Diseases, Parasitic/veterinary , Lung Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology , Lung Diseases, Parasitic/parasitology , Lung Diseases, Parasitic/veterinary , Parasitic Diseases, Animal/epidemiology , Prevalence , Siberia/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris) and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) are the two European ducks threatened with global extinction. We investigated lead (Pb) poisoning in stifftails (Oxyura spp., n = 83) and marbled teal (n = 80) shot or found dead or moribund in Spanish wetlands via gizzard examination and liver, bone, and blood Pb analysis. Ingested Pb shot was present in 32% of shot stifftails and 70 and 43% of dead or moribund stifftails and marbled teal, respectively. Lead-shot ingestion was more frequent in Valencia (eastern Spain), where Pb-shot densities were higher and grit scarcer. Selection of larger grit similar in size to Pb shot may explain the higher rate of Pb-shot ingestion observed in stifftails. Ingested shot was found more frequently in juvenile stifftails than in adults. Lead bone concentrations were higher in ducklings < 9 d old than in fully grown teal and were also higher in adult than in juvenile teal. Our results show the need for a ban of Pb shot for waterfowl hunting in Spain and the cleanup of spent shot at major wetlands.
