Copro-ovoscopical Assessment of Gastrointestinal Parasitism in Captive Canine and Feline Carnivorans

The health surveillance through a copro-ovoscopical study was conducted to assess the gastrointestinal parasitic infections in captive canine {jackal (Canis aureus), wolf (Canis lupus), dhole (Cuon alpinus) and hyaena (Hyaena hyaena)} and feline carnivorans {lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus) and jungle cat (Felis chaus)}, maintained at Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka. A total of 41 fecal samples from apparently normal/healthy captive lions, 35 from tigers, 34 from leopards, 14 from jungle cats, 4 from dholes, 4 from wolves, 4 from jackals and 2 from hyenas were collected over a period of 12 months during 2015–2016 and were screened using classical parasitological techniques including sedimentation and floatation technique followed by microscopic identification of eggs. It revealed the prevalence of ova of 3 (7.31%) Strongyle sp., 8 (19.51%) Ancylostoma sp., 21 (51.21%) Toxocara sp., 16 (39.02%) Toxascaris leonina, 4 (9.75%) mixed (Ascaris and Ancylostoma sp.) in lions; 19 (54.28%) Toxocara sp., 8 (22.85%) Toxascaris leonina, 6 (17.14%) Ancylostoma sp., 2 (5.71%) oocyst of Eimeria sp., 2 (5.71%) Spirometra sp. in tigers; 13 (38.23%) Toxocara sp., 6 (17.64%) Ancylostoma sp. in leopards; 7 (50%) Isospora sp. and 2 (14.28%) Toxocara sp. in jungle cats; 2 (50%) Ancylostoma sp. in jackals; 2 (50%) Toxocara canis and 1 (25%) Ancylostoma sp. in wolves; 2 (50%) Toxocara canis in dholes; while ova of only 1 (50%) Ancylostoma sp. could be observed in hyaena. This preliminary data may be useful for health management of the said species in captivity.