Research Communication

Nematodes of the small intestine of African buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

William A. Taylor, John D. Skinner, Joop Boomker
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 80, No 1 | a562 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v80i1.562 | © 2013 William A. Taylor, John D. Skinner, Joop Boomker | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 08 January 2013 | Published: 16 May 2013

About the author(s)

William A. Taylor, Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, United States of America
John D. Skinner, Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Joop Boomker, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, South Africa Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The abundance and distribution of parasitic helminths in populations of African buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, have not been well documented. A total of 28 buffaloes of different ages and sexeswere sampled in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, for nematodes of the small intestine. Three nematode species were identified, namely Cooperia fuelleborni, Cooperia hungi and Trichostrongylus deflexus, with C. hungi being a new country record for African buffalo in South Africa. The overall prevalence was 71%and the average number of worms was 2346 (range: 0–15 980). This is a small burden for such a large mammal. Sex, age and body condition of the buffaloes had no significant effect on worm occurrence.

Keywords

helminth; African buffalo; Cooperia

Metrics

Total abstract views: 3974
Total article views: 9931

 

Crossref Citations

1. Mixed-host aggregations and helminth parasite sharing in an East African wildlife–livestock system
Kimberly VanderWaal, George Paul Omondi, Vincent Obanda
Veterinary Parasitology  vol: 205  issue: 1-2  first page: 224  year: 2014  
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.07.015