Faecal helminth egg and oocyst counts of a small population of African lions (Panthera leo) in the southwestern Kalahari, Namibia.

An endoparasite survey of a small pride of African lions (Panthera leo) was conducted at Intu Afrika Kalahari Game Reserve, southwestern Namibia, during winter and summer of 2003 and 2004, respectively. Overall, 23 fresh lion scats were collected opportunistically during fieldwork trials. A flotation technique was employed for the diagnosis of parasites. Three nematodes, Ancylostoma braziliense, Gnathostoma spinigerum and Uncinaria stenocephala and two coccidians, Toxoplasma gondii and Isospora felis were recorded. By using the McMaster method for quantification, a maximum number of 14866 oocysts per gram of faeces was obtained for I. felis during winter 2003. Endoparasite taxa carried by the different individuals in the pride were found to be related to their levels of association. Rates of infection were relatively low as a result of the habitat, semi-captive conditions and earlier sporadic deworming.

Small and medium sized mammals as predators of ticks (Ixodoidea) in South Africa.

A total of 1,640 stomach contents from 56 South African species of small and medium sized mammals were examined for ticks. Only six ticks were found in three specimens of the caracal Felis caracal. Although identification of the tick species was not possible owing to fragmentation and partial digestion, the genus Haemaphysalis was represented in four of these cases. We conclude that predation by small and medium sized mammals on ticks is uncommon in South Africa.

The role of host behaviour in tick-host interactions: a domestic host-paralysis tick model.

The aim of this study was to quantify the infestation densities of Karoo and brown paralysis ticks on sheep and goats and explain it in terms of the etho-ecology of these ticks and their domestic hosts. The Karoo paralysis tick usually quests from a vantage point on the vegetation whereas the brown paralysis tick displays an appetence response from the ground and mainly engages hosts that are prostrate. Both tick species are confined chiefly to hilly areas. Temporal differences in the infestation densities of the hosts within and between tick species were evident. These differences were related to disparities in the spatial distribution of the hosts, their activity patterns and the specific appetence responses of the two tick species. Differential climatological conditions affected the quality of forage in areas with a varied topography and the feeding preferences of hosts influenced tick-host sympatry and hence infestation densities.

Spatial distribution of the Karoo paralysis tick Ixodes rubicundus (Acari: Ixodidae) within a false upper Karoo veld type.

Spatial distribution of the Karoo paralysis tick (Ixodes rubicundus) has been studied in a paralysis enzootic area of the southwestern Orange Free State. Significantly more females than males were collected from the vegetation. Most ticks (99%) used grass as questing sites at a height of approximately 45 cm (range 10-97 cm), which correlates with the size of host animals. No significant differences between the questing height of male and female ticks were evident. The ticks were found on most of the grass species present and, except for the genus Eragrostis, no specific preference was evident. When questing, the capitulum of I. rubicundus is usually (90%) directed towards the ground. Seventy-eight percent of the ticks occurred singly on a specific grassblade or flowerhead. In those cases where two ticks occurred together, no sexual aggregation was evident. Most ticks occurred under or close (mean = 62 cm) to the crown cover of specific shrub or tree species. These plant species were characterized by a dense crown cover with a mat of decaying leaf litter underneath. The preference of the tick for wild olive trees (Olea europaea africana) suggests that, except for the physical characteristics of this tree species, host factors may also be important. Significantly more ticks were distributed on the cooler, more protected southern sides of vegetation in comparison to the northern sides.