Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing wild carnivores in Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand.

Ixodid ticks were collected and identified from 8 wild carnivore species in Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, northeastern Thailand. Six tick species belonging to 4 genera were recovered and identified from 132 individuals. These included Amblyomma testudinarium (n = 36), Haemaphysalis asiatica (n = 58), H. hystricis (n = 31), H. semermis (n = 3), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides (n = 3), and Ixodes granulatus (n = 1). Leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis) (n = 19) were infested with 4 tick species, whereas yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula) (n = 4), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) (n = 2), and dhole (Cuon alpinus) (n = 1) were infested with 3 tick species, Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temmincki) (n = 2) with 2 species, and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), binturong (Arctictis binturong), and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha) each infested with 1 species. This information contributes to the knowledge available on the ectoparasites of wild carnivores in Southeast Asia.

Immobilization of wild ocelots with tiletamine and zolazepam in southern Texas.

Telazol was used to immobilize nine wild ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) captured in box-traps in southern Texas (USA) between May 1997 and April 1998. Mean (+/- SD) intramuscular dosage rate of 5.05 (+/- 0.76) mg/kg produced an induction time of 3.7 +/- 1.8 min. Duration of cataleptic anesthesia was 67.4 +/- 19.8 min and ocelots stood 50.0 +/- 30.7 min after emergence from cataleptic anesthesia. Ocelots recovered to their preinjection condition 129.7 +/- 28.8 min after first standing and 250.8 +/- 55.1 min after initial injection. We observed no adverse reactions to Telazol aside from minor loss of thermoregulatory control. Telazol administered at 5 mg/kg was an effective and safe immobilizing agent for wild ocelots.

Notoedric mange in an ocelot (Felis pardalis) from southern Texas.

Notoedric mange was diagnosed in a free-ranging adult male ocelot (Felis pardalis) found dead in April 1994 in southern Texas (USA). The emaciated carcass had no body fat. The heart was enlarged and flaccid. There was a nonpurulent serosanguineous pericardial and peritoneal exudate. Severe encrusted skin lesions and alopecia extended from the head posteriorly to the shoulders. The forelegs and feet were less severely affected. We observed a massive infection of Notoedres cati in skin scrapings. Epidermal lesions included hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis with necrotic debris and foci of acute inflammatory cells surrounding mites and their eggs in the stratum corneum. There was mild acanthosis and spongiosis of the stratum germativum, but no chronic inflammation in the dermis. This is the first confirmed case in the ocelot, but notoedric manage has been reported from the bobcat (Felis rufus) in southern Texas. Thus, notoedric mange could pose an additional threat to the already endangered remnant population of the ocelot.

Immobilization of ocelots and bobcats with ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride.

We immobilized 10 ocelots (Felis pardalis), and 21 bobcats (F. rufus) in south Texas (USA) during March to November 1991 with a mixture of ketamine hydrochloride (KH) and xylazine hydrochloride (XH); two ocelots were immobilized twice. Species were immobilized with (mean +/- SE) 14.7 +/- 1.6 mg KH/kg body mass for ocelots, 13.3 +/- 1.8 mg KH/kg for bobcats, and 1.1 +/- 0.1 mg XH/kg and 1.2 +/- 0.1 mg XH/kg for ocelots and bobcats, respectively. Immobilization times in bobcats were longer (P = 0.08) than in ocelots. Adult female ocelots (18.5 +/- 2.6 mg/kg) needed larger (P < 0.05) doses of KH than adult males (12.0 +/- 1.7 mg/kg). Bobcats were immobilized during summer with lower initial (8.6 +/- 0.9 mg/kg, P < 0.001) and total (10.1 +/- 1.3 mg/kg, P = 0.02) doses of KH than bobcats immobilized in winter (14.5 +/- 1.0 mg/kg, and 18.5 +/- 3.8 mg/kg, respectively); summer immobilization times (44.3 +/- 3.8 min) were also shorter (P = 0.03) than during winter (59.1 +/- 5.2 min). Bobcats immobilized during summer had lower (P < 0.01) initial rectal temperatures (39.4 +/- 0.2 C) than bobcats trapped in winter (41.1 +/- 0.4 C). Overall, we observed no effects of KH-XH dose on body temperature.

Leprosy in wild armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) of the Texas Gulf Coast: epidemiology and mycobacteriology.

A significant prevalence of leprosy has been demonstrated in wild Louisiana armadillos. The Texas Gulf Coast still has endemic human leprosy, and recent mores in Texas have markedly increased armadillo-human contact. Armadillos were screened by physical examination, and by ear-snip and slit-scrape technique. Animals that screened "positive" were sacrificed and necropsied under aseptic conditions. Liver, spleen, gross lesions, and four groups of lymph nodes were cultured for mycobacteria and were studied histologically. Base ratios and DNA homology with Mycobacterium leprae were determined on mycobacteria from two armadillos (and two tissues from one of these); these studies indicate that the organism found in Texas armadillos is M leprae. Twenty-one of the armadillos were leprous--4.66%. The local prevalence varied from 1.0% to 15.4%. Epidemiologic implications of these findings and the occurrence of other concomitant mycobacterial infections are discussed.