Tick and flea infestation in a captive Margay Leoparduswiedii (Schinz, 1821) (Carnivora:Felidae: Felinae) in Peru

 

Miryam Quevedo1, Luis Gómez 2 & Jesús Lescano 3

 

1,3 Laboratory of Animal Anatomy and Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine, San Marcos University, 2800 Circunvalación Avenue, Lima 41, Peru

2 Laboratory of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, San Marcos University, 2800Circunvalación Avenue, Lima 41, Peru

1 mquevedo@veterinaria-unmsm.edu.pe,2 lucho92@yahoo.com, 3 jlescano@veterinaria-unmsm.edu.pe (corresponding author)

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3666.5501-2  | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B07627EB-996E-4601-815B-4EB41DC0376D

 

Editor: Ulrike Streicher, Wildlife Veterinarian / Wildlife Management Consultant, Vietnam.           Date of publication: 26 February 2014 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o3666 | Received 16 June 2013 | Final received 09 February 2014 | Finally accepted 12 February 2014

 

Citation: Quevedo, M., L. Gómez & J. Lescano (2014). Tick and flea infestation in a captive Margay Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821) (Carnivora: Felidae: Felinae) in Peru. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(2): 5501–5502; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3666.5501-2

 

Copyright: © Quevedo et al. 2014. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 UnportedLicense. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding: None.

 

Competing Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

 

 

For images -- click here

 

 

The Margay, Gato Tigre or Tigrillo Leopardus wiedii, is a small-sized solitary felid which can be found from southern Texas (USA) to northern Uruguay, mainly occupying forest habitats (Bianchi et al. 2011).  It is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List and its population is considered to be decreasing (Payan et al. 2008).  Major threats faced by this species include habitat loss and fragmentation, accidents along roads, illegal trade (pets and skins), and retaliatory killing (animals are often shot due to predation on poultry) (Payan et al. 2008).

The impacts of diseases on wildlife are increasingly recognized (Bevins et al. 2012).  The exposure of Brazilian free-ranging wild felids to infectious agents such as Herpesvirus,Calicivirus, Parvovirus and Ehrlichiahas already found by Filoni et al. (2006).  Moreover, tick species including Amblyomma ovale, A. parvum, A. cajennense, Boophilus microplus and Ixodes aragaoi have been reported infesting Brazilian Pumas Puma concolor(Labruna et al. 2005) and  A. aureolatumand A. ovale have been reported parasitizing on free-ranging Brazilian Margays Leopardus wiedii (Martins et al. 2010).  But to date little is known about ectoparasites infesting Peruvian wild felids.

Results: A male cub Margay was presented for consultation in Lima, Peru. Anamnesis revealed the Margay came from the region of Madre de Dios in Peru.  Moreover, the Margay had been kept as a pet for about 15 days, during which it had lived together with domestic dogs and cats.  At physical examination the cub presented a mild infestation of ectoparasites(ticks and fleas) (Image 1), poor body condition, pallid and yellowish mucous membranes, dehydration, anorexia and lethargy; supportive therapy was administered based on clinical signs.  Fleas and ticks were collected directly off the animal and identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) (2013) keys.

Discussion and Conclusions: To the authors´ knowledge, this is the first report of R. sanguineus and C. felisparasitizing on a margay from Peru, hence, this finding increases the number of host species for these parasites. However, as the Margay had direct contact with dogs and cats, this interaction might have been the source of infestation.

The genus Rhipicephalusis known to transmit tick-borne diseases such as ehrlichiosis,anaplasmosis and babesiosis(Aktas et al. 2009; Götschet al. 2009) and the effects of one or more of these infections could be associated with the clinical signs observed in this animal (i.e., pallid and yellowish mucous membranes, anorexia, dehydration and lethargy), which have been found in felids manifesting ehrlichiosis (Stich et al. 2008).

Based on this finding, special attention should be paid to interactions between Margays and domestic animals as the former are considered to be susceptible to disease outbreaks (Payan et al. 2008).

 

References

 

Aktas, M., K. Altay, N. Dumanli & A. Kalkan (2009). Molecular detection and identification of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species in ixodidticks.Parasitology Research 104: 1243–1248; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1377-1

Bevins, S.N., S. Carver, E.E. Boydston, L.M. Lyren, M. Alldredge, K.A. Logan, S.P.D. Riley, R.N. Fisher, T.W. Vickers, W. Boyce, M. Salman, M.R. Lappin, K.R. Crooks & S. VandeWoude (2012). Three pathogens in sympatric populations of pumas, bobcats, and domestic cats: implications for infectious disease transmission. PLoS ONE 7(2): e31403; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.003140

Bianchi R. de C., A.F. Rosa, A. Gatti & S.L. Mendes (2011). Diet of margay, Leopardus wiedii, and jaguarundi, Puma yagouaroundi, (Carnivora: Felidae) in Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil. Zoologia(Curitiba, Impr.) 28(1): 127–132; http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702011000100018

CDC (2013). Pictorial keys to arthropods, reptiles, birds, and mammals of public health significance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Publications/Pictorial_Keys.htm>. Downloaded on 09 April 2013.

Filoni, C., J.L. Catáo-Dias, G. Bay, E.L. Durigon, R.S. Jorge, H. Lutz & R. Hofmann-Lehmann (2006). First evidence of feline herpesvirus, calicivirus, parvovirus, and Ehrlichia exposure in Brazilian free-ranging felids. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42(2): 470–477; http://dx.doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-42.2.470

Götsch, S., M. Leschnik, G. Duscher, J.P. Burgstaller, W. Willie-Piazzi & A. Joachim. (2009). Ticks and haemoparasitesof dogs from Praia, Cape Verde. Veterinary Parasitology 166(1-2):171-4; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.08.009

Labruna, M.B., R.S.P. Jorge, D.A. San, A.T.A. Jácomo, C.K. Kashivakura, M.M. Furtado, C. Ferro, S.A. Perez, L. Silveira, T.S. Santos JR, S.R. Marques, R.G. Morato, A. Nava, C.H. Adania, R.H. F. Teixeira, A.A.B. Gomes, V.A. Conforti, F.C.C. Azevedo, C.S. Prada, J.C.R. Silva, A.F. Batista, M.F.V. Marvulo, R.L.G. Morato, C.J.R. Alho, A. Pinter, P.M. Ferreira, F. Ferreira & D.M. Barros-Battesti(2005). Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on wild carnivores in Brazil. Experimental and Applied Acarology36(1–2): 149–163; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10493-005-2563-1

Martins, J.R., J. Reck Jr., R.L. Doyle, N.L. da Cruz, A.W. Vieira & U.A. Souza (2010). Amblyomma aureolatum(Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing margay (Leopardus wiedii) in Rio Grande do Sul. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária 19(3): 189–191.

Payan, E., E. Eizirik, T. de Oliveira, R. Leite-Pitman, M. Kelly & C. Valderrama (2008). Leopardus wiedii. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 April 2013.

Stich, R.W., J.J. Schaefer, W.G. Bremer, G.R. Needham & S. Jittapalapong(2008). Host surveys, ixodid tick biology and transmission scenarios as related to the tick-borne pathogen, Ehrlichia canis. Veterinary Parasitology 158(4): 256–273; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.09.013