A field survey on the status of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) in Dachigam National Park of Kashmir

Gastrointestinal parasites of the wild ungulates (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla) in the Hemis National Park, Ladakh, India

We evaluated the gastrointestinal parasitic prevalence and intensity of wild ungulates in the Hemis National Park of Ladakh by examining their fresh faecal samples. A total of 327 fresh faecal samples from three wild ungulates, blue sheep Pseudois nayaur (n = 127), Ladakh urial Ovis vignei vignei (n = 110), and Himalayan ibex Ibex siberica (n = 90) were collected between June 2021 and May 2022. The techniques of flotation and sedimentation were used to find parasite eggs and oocysts from the faecal samples. Out of 327 samples examined, 165 samples were infected with gastrointestinal parasites making an overall prevalence of 50.45%. Seven parasitic taxa, including one protozoan (Eimeria spp.), five nematodes (Nematodirus spp., Strongyloides spp., Haemonchus sp., Trichuris sp., and Trichostrongylus spp.), and one cestode (Monezia spp.), were found during the current investigation. Mixed infection was reported in 36 (11%) of the total examined samples. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was found to be highest in blue sheep (55.11%), followed by Ladakh urial (49.09%) and Himalayan ibex (45.55%). The highest prevalence was recorded in the summer (64.42%), and the lowest in the winter (33.82%). A significant difference in parasitic prevalence was observed across seasons in each of the three wild ungulate hosts. However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of parasites between these hosts.

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of wild ungulates in Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, Kashmir, India

Parasitic infection represents an emerging threat to wild ungulates and a challenge to their management. Although a lot of work has been carried out on helminth parasitic infestation of domestic ungulates of Kashmir but the data pertaining to this aspect of wild ungulates has been ignored. The study on gastrointestinal helminth parasitic infestation of wild ungulates was carried out during post livestock grazing period (November to May) of 2018/2019 in Hirpora Wildlife sanctuary (HWLS) to fill the gap in the existing literature. During the study fresh faecal samples of musk deer Moschus spp. (n = 44) and markhor Capra falconeri (n = 41) were collected and examined qualitatively and quantitatively for gastrointestinal helminth parasites. A total of seven helminth parasites were recorded which are arranged in the descending order of their overall prevalence as Haemonchus spp. (44.70%), Nematodirus spp. (40%), Trichuris spp. (37.64%), Strongyloides spp. (34.11%) Trichostrongylus spp. (28.23%) Moniezia spp. (23.52%) and Fasciola spp. (20%). The mean EPG (eggs per gram) of different parasites showed a considerable variation in both the wild ungulates. The highest mean EPG was that of Haemonchus spp. and the lowest mean EPG was that of Fasciola spp. in both hosts. A statistically significant difference was observed in the mean EPG of different parasites between two wild hosts (t = 3.606, p = 0.01) .