For species extirpated from the wild, ex situ breeding programs are essential for providing the individuals necessary for re-establishing wild populations through reintroductions. However, repeated exposure to humans under managed care may reduce war...
Red wolves (Canis rufus) are the most critically endangered wolf globally, with over 95% of individuals living under human care. Gastrointestinal (GI) disease is one of the leading causes of death among adult red wolves under human care, yet links be...
Rediscovering species once thought to be extinct or on the edge of extinction is rare. Red wolves have been extinct along the American Gulf Coast since 1980, with their last populations found in coastal Louisiana and Texas. We report the rediscovery...
Trichinella spp. are zoonotic nematodes with a global distribution, primarily maintained through wildlife reservoirs which complicates eradication efforts. In Europe, four species—T. spiralis, T. britovi, T. nativa, and T. pseudospiralis—...
Artificial insemination (AI) is a valuable tool for ex situ wildlife conservation, allowing the re-infusion and dissemination of genetic material, even after death of the donor. However, the application of AI to species conservation is still limited,...
Ticks under the skin have been shown in different canid species such as red fox, domestic dog, and raccoon dog. Despite being increasingly reported in Europe in the last decade, the biological mechanisms associated to subcutaneous ticks (SCT), as wel...
Changes in land use and land cover as well as feedback on the climate deeply affect the landscape worldwide. This phenomenon has also enlarged the human–wildlife interface and amplified the risk of potential new zoonoses. The expansion of the h...
By the 1970s, government-supported eradication campaigns reduced red wolves to a remnant population of less than 100 individuals on the southern border of Texas and Louisiana. Restoration efforts in the region were deemed unpromising because of pred...
After the emergence of African swine fever (ASF), the wild boar population numbers fell drastically in Eastern Europe. This situation made it possible to verify the changes in the wolves’ diet that occurred. The material collection was carried out in...
Infections with zoonotic pathogens have received increasing attention in recent years, as reflected in the literature of both veterinary and human medicine. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are recognised as the principal causes of waterborne outbreaks wo...
Gastrointestinal nematodes and protozoa and other parasite occurrences were evaluated in free-ranging wolf (Canis lupus italicus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations from natural and anthropized areas of Central Italy. Analyzed fecal samples were...
The populations and distribution areas of large carnivores have declined all over the world due to extirpation and habitat alteration and degradation. However, the grey wolf (Canis lupus) has recovered in Europe in recent decades and has been reappea...
In Latvia, livestock depredation by wolves has increased during the last two decades. Most of the attacks occur in summer and autumn during wolf hunting season. Use of effective preventive measures in Latvia is low, and farmers primarily rely on wolf...
Sarcoptic mange is globally enzootic, and non-invasive methods with high diagnostic specificity for its surveillance in wildlife are lacking. We describe the molecular detection of Sarcoptes scabiei in non-invasively collected faecal samples, targeti...
Wild carnivores can harbor pathogens affecting wildlife conservation and domestic animal health. This study surveyed major viral pathogens in free-ranging wolves, red foxes, stone martens, and Eurasian badgers in Northwestern Italy. Duodenal samples...
The ongoing recolonisations of human-transformed environments in Europe by large carnivores like the wolf Canis lupus means that conservation conflicts could re-surface, among other reasons, due to predation on ungulate game species. We estimated the...
Analyses of temporal partitioning and overlaps in activity rhythms are pivotal to shed light on interspecific coexistence between similar species or prey and predators. In this work, we assessed the overlap of activity rhythms between the Eurasian be...
In the last decade, an upsurge of human leishmaniasis has been reported in the Emilia-Romagna region, Northeast Italy. Epidemiologic data have raised doubts about the role of dogs as the main reservoirs for Leishmania infantum. In the present study,...
Scavenging guilds often have several trophic levels with varying dominance and intra-guild predation, competition, and interaction. Apex predators can control subordinate predators by limiting their numbers and affecting behaviour but also supply a c...
Wild carnivores are definitive hosts and potential reservoirs for the tapeworm Echinococcus sp. which can cause cystic and alveolar echinococcosis. Both are considered neglected and important food-borne pandemics. This study is the first to molecular...
The genus Pearsonema, in the nematode family Capillariidae, includes several species that parasitize the urinary bladders of wild and domestic carnivores. The infection has been reported worldwide from several wildlife species, including canids, must...
While the number of mammalian genome assemblies has proliferated, Y-chromosome assemblies have lagged behind. This discrepancy is caused by biological features of the Y-chromosome, such as its high repeat content, that present challenges to assembly...
Two transcribed retrocopies of the fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4) gene have previously been described in the domestic dog. An FGF4 retrocopy on chr18 is associated with disproportionate dwarfism, while an FGF4 retrocopy on chr12 is associated with...
Alaria alata flukes are cosmopolitan parasites. In Europe, the definitive hosts are red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), wolves (Canis lupus), and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), as well as animals that belong to the Felidae family. Intermediate hosts...
Bornaviruses are neurotropic, negative-sense RNA viruses with zoonotic potential, notably Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) and variegated squirrel bornavirus 1 (VSBV-1). BoDV-1 is endemic in certain regions of Central Europe and maintained in bicolored...
Human disturbances, such as habitat destruction and overharvesting, are greatly harming ecosystems and causing significant declines in biodiversity. Although protected areas play a crucial role in conserving terrestrial mammals, nearly non-protected...
Amid the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, concerns surfaced regarding the spread of the virus to wildlife. Switzerland lacked data concerning the exposure of free-ranging animals to SARS-CoV-2 during this period. This study aimed to investigate the potential exp...
Sarcoptic mange is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei and has been described in several species of domestic and wild mammals. Macroscopic lesions are predominantly hyperkeratotic (type I hypersensitivity) in fox, chamois and deer, but alopecic (typ...
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. In developed countries, zoonotic transmission of HEV genotypes (Gt) 3 and 4 is caused by the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat of infected pigs and wild boars, the main reservo...
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous organisms, of which some, especially those of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), may be opportunistic animal and human pathogens. Infection with NTM can interfere with tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis...
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious multisystemic pathogen posing severe threats to wild carnivores and domestic animals. To investigate CDV circulation and lineage diversity in Piacenza Province, Northern Italy, wildlife surveillance...
We examined three decades of changes in the mammal fauna of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the context of climate variability, land use transformation, and anthropogenic pressures. We compiled distributional, abundance, and status data from public...
Canine distemper is a highly contagious viral disease in carnivores and represents a serious threat for both wild and domestic animals. The aim of our study was to monitor the occurrence of the canine distemper virus in wildlife from the Czech Republ...
21 February 2023
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease widely reported in veterinary practice and a worldwide zoonosis. In Northeastern Italy, different serogroups and genotypes of Leptospira have been described in ill dogs, the most commonly detected being Icteroha...