Olfactory Enrichment in Hoary Foxes (Lycalopex vetulus LUND 1842): A Case Study.

We have tested a method of olfactory environmental enrichment in hoary foxes used in other wild canids in captivity. The individuals were exposed to four olfactory stimuli (meat, mouse urine, cheese, and egg) that were wrapped in cotton bags outside the enclosures at the zoo for five minutes. Behavioral observations were performed using the focal animal method, and all occurrences were recorded. The pre-exposure phase (Basal), exposure phase (Exp), and post-exposure phase and Basal phase (Pos) were analyzed for a period of five minutes. Behavioral responses were categorized as positive, negative, or other. Positive behavior tended to increase (p = 0.07) from the Basal phase to the Exp phase, but there was no statistical difference (p = 0.31) between the phases. Negative and other behavior did not differ statistically from the Basal phase to the Exp phase (N-, p = 0.32; Ot, p = 0.35) or Basal to the Pos phase (N-, p = 0.18; Ot, p = 0.92). The odors used seemed to elicit positive behavior weakly. Negative behavior was stable for the hoary foxes. The method failed to improve the hoary foxes' welfare. Because their natural diet is based on insects and fruits, it is suggested that the stimuli used in this study have no appetitive value for hoary foxes. The method used with the same olfactory stimuli that were successful in other canid species is unsuitable for hoary foxes.

Wild and Domestic Canids and Their Interactions in the Transmission Cycles of Trypanosoma Cruzi and Leishmania spp. in an Area of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. are parasites that infect multiple hosts including canids, considered bioaccumulators of parasites. Deforestation in the Cerrado biome has resulted in the exposure of wild canids to anthropized areas, where they may establish ecological and epidemiological relationships with domestic dogs. We evaluated the infection by trypanosomatids in canids from a Cerrado agroecosystem between 2013 and 2017. Samples of wild canids (blood, bone marrow and skin) and dogs (blood) were collected for parasitological, serological and molecular diagnosis. A total of 414 samples from wild (n = 131) and domestic (n = 283) canids were collected, including recaptures. We obtained five positive hemocultures from Lycalopex vetulus (n = 2), Cerdocyon thous (n = 1) and dogs (n = 2), all characterized as T. cruzi TcIII/V (18S rDNA) and TcIII/V/VI (gGAPDH); one positive skin fragment for Leishmania sp. (C. thous), one positive skin culture (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and one positive fresh blood examination from a dog. Infection by T. cruzi and Leishmania spp. was serologically confirmed in 18% and 4% of the canids, respectively. Active transmission was attested by seroconversion events and occurred despite the low rate of positive parasitological assays. Wild and domestic canids infected by both parasites were detected sharing the same areas, pointing to a possible spillover of parasites among them.

Wild carnivores, domestic dogs and ticks: shared parasitism in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The increase of contact between natural and rural areas is prominent in Brazil, due to agricultural activities and concern with the environmental conservation. In this context, domestic animals, wild fauna and humans are exposed to mutual exchange of parasites, microorganisms and diseases. We studied tick parasitism of wild carnivores and domestic dogs, and the environmental of questing ticks, in extensive cattle ranch areas intermingled with natural vegetation, and in a natural reserve, both in a region of Cerrado biome, Midwestern Brazil. From 2008 to 2015, we inspected 119 wild carnivores from nine species, and collected six tick species (Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma tigrinum, Dermacentor nitens and Rhipicephalus microplus). The most numerous and infested hosts were Cerdocyon thous, Lycalopex vetulus, Chrysocyon brachyurus, Puma concolor and Conepatus amazonicus. From 139 domestic dogs, we collected A. sculptum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and R. microplus. From vegetation, samplings resulted in A. sculptum, A. dubitatum, A. ovale, Amblyomma rotundatum and R. microplus, with dominance of A. sculptum. Domestics and wild animals presented high overlapping of infestations by A. sculptum, a generalist and anthropophilic tick species. This tick is the most important vector of the Brazilian spotted fever, a lethal human disease. This fact elicits attention and requires efforts to monitor the presence of pathogens vectored by ticks circulating in this type of agroecosystem, including in other regions of the Brazil, because the most of the natural vegetation remaining have been increasingly immersed in pastures and agricultural matrix.

Morphometry of the mandibular foramen applied to local anesthesia in hoary fox (Lycalopex vetulus) / Morfometria do forame mandibular aplicada à anestesia local em raposa-do-campo (Lycalopex vetulus)

Great part of the veterinary care in wild carnivores is intended to treat the dental disorders, and oral cavity disorders may generally affect the animal health as a whole. It is factual that knowing the location of the mandibular foramen is vital for local anesthetic block of the inferior alveolar nerve, however, there is still no data on the morphometry of the hoary fox mandibular foramen. The aim was describing morphometry of the mandibular foramen of this species and associating its position with anatomic reference points in the mandible, thus providing support for more effective local anesthetic block of the inferior alveolar nerve in such species. Four adult jaws of Lycalopex vetulus were used. Radiography and biometrics of the hemimandibulas were performed. The rostral third of the jaw body in a lateral view presented three mental foramens, being a rostral, a medium and a caudal. Each hemimandibula presented I3/C1/PM4/M3. The angle of the mandible was marked by the masseteric fossa, the angular incisure, the angular process and the mandibular foramen, and this last one located perpendicularly to the dorsal edge of the angular incisures in medial view. In this view, the crevice to the milohyoid nerve, projected in the caudodorso rostral direction, was also evidenced. The ramus of the mandible was characterized by the presence of the condylar and coronoid processes, and by the dorsal and ventral mandibular incisions. Statistical analyzes did not present significant differences between the antimeres of the studied animals, and the penetration of the needle perpendicularly to the dorsal end of the angular incision on average 8.79mm, overlapped to the medial face of the angle of the mandible could be indicated. Alternatively, the access may also be achieved by inserting the needle in an average of 17.69mm perpendicular to the dorsal end of the angular process, in contact with the medial aspect of the angle of the mandible, and in caudo-rostral projection, also allowing a better anesthetic blockade of the inferior alveolar nerve in L. vetulus. It can also be concluded that the masseteric fossa, the dorsal and ventral mandibular angles, the crevice to the milohyoid nerve, the ramus of the mandible and the mandibular foramen presented differences in their topographic descriptions when compared to the other canids.(AU)

A maior parte dos atendimentos veterinários em carnívoros silvestres destina-se ao tratamento das afecções dentárias, sendo que doenças de cavidade oral podem afetar a saúde do animal como um todo. É factível que o conhecimento da localização do forame mandibular é essencial para o bloqueio anestésico local do nervo alveolar inferior, entretanto, ainda são inexistentes dados sobre a morfometria do forame mandibular de raposa-do-campo. Objetivou-se descrever a morfometria do forame mandibular desta espécie, e correlacionar sua posição com pontos de referência anatômica na mandíbula, oferecendo subsídio para um bloqueio anestésico local mais efetivo do nervo alveolar inferior nesta espécie. Foram utilizadas quatro mandíbulas de cadáveres adultos de Lycalopex vetulus. Realizou-se a radiografia e as biometrias das hemimandíbulas. O terço rostral do corpo da mandíbula em uma vista lateral apresentou três forames mentuais, sendo um rostral, um médio e um caudal. Cada hemimandíbula apresentou I3/C1/PM4/M3. O ângulo da mandíbula foi marcado pela fossa massetérica, pela incisura angular, pelo processo angular e pelo forame mandibular, e este último localizado perpendicularmente ao extremo dorsal da incisura angular em vista medial. Nesta vista, também se evidenciou o sulco para o nervo milohióideo, projetado em sentido caudodorsorostral. O ramo da mandíbula foi caracterizado pela presença dos processos condilar e coronóide, e pelas incisuras mandibulares dorsal e ventral. As análises estatísticas não apresentaram diferenças significantes entre os antímeros dos animais estudados, podendo-se indicar a penetração da agulha perpendicularmente ao extremo dorsal da incisura angular em média 8,79mm, justaposto à face medial do ângulo da mandíbula. Alternativamente, o acesso também poderá ser realizado introduzindo a agulha em média 17,69mm de forma perpendicular ao extremo dorsal do processo angular, em contato com a face medial do ângulo da mandíbula, e em projeção caudorostral, permitindo também um melhor bloqueio anestésico do nervo alveolar inferior na L. vetulus. Também se pode concluir que a fossa massetérica, as incisuras angular, mandibulares dorsal e ventral, o sulco para o nervo milohióideo, o ramo da mandíbula e o forame mandibular apresentaram diferenças em suas descrições topográficas quando comparados aos demais canídeos.(AU)

Hammondia sp. oocysts shed by a Brazilian fox (Lycalopex vetulus) differ from Hammondia heydorni and Hammondia triffittae.

A Brazilian fox (Lycalopex vetulus) was rescued from a highway, and 16 days after maintained in captivity, the fox shed oocysts with sizes compatible with Hammondia sp. and Neospora caninum. DNA extracted from oocysts were initially tested in two PCRs targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) of the rDNA of Hammondia heydorni and the Nc-5 gene of N. caninum. A 270-bp product was visualized in the PCR for H. heydorni. No amplification was observed for N. caninum PCR. Since ITS-1-based PCR is not sufficient to differentiate Hammondia species derived from canids, oocyst DNA was examined using multilocus sequence analysis of five genetic fragments [intron 1 of the alpha tubulin gene (intron 1), internal transcribed spaces 1 and 2 (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of the rDNA, 28S rRNA gene (D2/D3 domain), and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70)]. The Hammondia sp. oocyst from the Brazilian fox, referred here as H-FOXBR isolate, is closely related to H. heydorni and Hammondia triffittae, but differs from these parasites in three genetic markers (alpha tubulin gene, ITS-2, and 28S rRNA). As reported by other research groups, Hammondia spp. excreted by canids are genetically diverse and may encompass additional species besides H. heydorni and H. triffittae. In this study, we confirmed that H-FOXBR has significant genetic differences in comparison to H. heydorni and H. triffittae and may represent a separate species. Further studies are needed to identify the life cycle of this parasite and to characterize the parasite stages in the intermediate and definitive hosts.

Occurrence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in free-ranging wild canids from the Brazilian savanna / Ocorrência de anticorpos contra Leptospira spp. em canídeos selvagens de vida livre do cerrado brasileiro

The Brazilian savanna, also known as Cerrado, is one of the world's richest and most ecologically invaluable tropical savanna regions. There are few studies in Brazil about the diseases that affect the wild canids of this biome, which may be harmful to wildlife populations and public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in three Cerrado wild canids species using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Serum samples were tested from 19 crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous), 14 maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and seven hoary foxes (Lycalopex vetulus), all free-ranging animals found in the municipalities of Araguari and Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, and Cumari, Goiás State, Brazil. Fourteen (35%) of these samples were seropositive. The most frequent serovars detected in the samples were Copenhageni and Hardjo, but reactions to the serovars Autumnalis, Grippotyphosa, Hebdomadis, Wolffi, and Icterohaemorrhagiae also occurred. Notwithstanding other reported results, this study is the first to report the presence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in L. vetulus. The three species of wild canids examined may act as potential hosts for several serovars of leptospira in Brazil's savanna environment...

O cerrado é a mais diversificada savana tropical do mundo e constitui grande importância ecológica. Ainda assim, são poucos os estudos realizados no Brasil a respeito das doenças que acometem os canídeos desse bioma, o que causa prejuízos à população de animais selvagens e à saúde pública. Essa pesquisa foi realizada com o objetivo de avaliar a ocorrência de anticorpos contra Leptospira spp. em três espécies de canídeos selvagens do cerrado brasileiro utilizando o teste de soroaglutinação microscópica (SAM). Foram testadas amostras de soro sanguíneo de 19 cachorros-do-mato (Cerdocyon thous), 14 lobos guarás (Chrysocyon brachyurus) e sete raposas-do-campo (Lycalopex vetulus) de vida livre das regiões de cerrado de Araguari e Uberlândia, MG, e Cumari, GO. Dessas 40 amostras, 14 (35%) foram soropositivas. Os sorovares detectados com maior frequência foram Copenhageni e Hardjo, porém evidenciou-se também reação aos sorovares Autumnalis, Grippotyphosa, Hbedomadis, Wolffi e Icterohaemorrhagiae. Esse trabalho foi o primeiro a relatar a presença de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp. em L. vetulus e verificou-se que as três espécies de canídeos utilizadas nessa pesquisa podem atuar como possíveis hospedeiros de diversos sorovares de leptospiras no ambiente de cerrado...