Parasites of South African wildlife XII. Helminths of nyala, Tragelaphus angasii, in Natal

Abstract

The helminths of 77 nyala, Tragelaphus angasii, from 4 game reserves in Natal, were collected, counted and identified. Ten nematode species and 4 nematode genera, a trematode species and paramphistomes, and 2 cestode genera were recovered from the antelope. Of these, a Cooperia rotundispiculum race, Gaigeria pachyscelis, a Gongylonema sp., Haemonchus vegliai, Impalaia tuberculata, an Oesophagostomum sp., a Setaria sp., Trichostrongylus deflexus, Trichostrongylus falculatus, the larval stage of a Taenia sp., a Thysaniezia sp. and Schistosoma mattheei are new parasite records for this host. Individual nematode helminth burdens varied from 3 to 13 493 and the total mean nematode burden was 700. The mean burdens of nyala from Mkuzi were the largest and those from animals from the Umfolozi Game Reserve and the False Bay Park the smallest. Ostertagia harrisi was the most prevalent nematode, and it was also the most numerous in nyala from Umfolozi, Mkuzi and False Bay. A race of Cooperia rotundispiculum was the most numerous in nyala from Ndumu. No clear-cut trends in the seasonal abundance could be discerned for any of the worm species recovered in this study.