The helminth parasites of various artiodactylids from some South African nature reserves

Abstract

The helminth species composition and helminth burdens of 4 grey duikers, 12 bushbuck, 2 nyala, 2 giraffe, a steenbok, an oribi, a waterbuck and a tsessebe from the Kruger National Park (KNP); of a steenbok and a greater kudu from the farm Riekerts Laager, Transvaal; of a single blue duiker from the Tsitsikama Forest National Park, and of a blue wildebeest, a red hartebeest, a gemsbok and 2 springbok from the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (KGNP) were collected, counted and identified. New parasite records are: Agriostomum equidentatum from the gemsbok, Cooperia neitzi from the bushbuck, Cooperia sp. from the gemsbok and the red hartebeest, Cooperia yoshidai from the waterbuck and the tsessebe, Dictyocaulus viviparus from the bushbuck, Haemonchus bedfordi from the waterbuck, Haemonchus contortus from the gemsbok, Haemonchus krugeri from the steenbok from the KNP, lmpalaia nudicollis from the gemsbok and the red hartebeest, Impalaia tuberculata from the oribi and the waterbuck, lmpalaia spp. from the kudu, Longistrongylus meyeri from the steenbok from Riekerts Laager and the gemsbok, Longistrongylus sabie from the steenbok from the KNP, Longistrongylus schrenki from the tsessebe, Parabronema sp. from the tsessebe and the red hartebeest, Paracooperia serrata from the gemsbok and the steenbok from the KGNP, Pneumostrongylus calcaratus from the bushbuck, Strongyloides sp. from the gemsbok, Trichostrongylus sp. from the gemsbok, the red hartebeest and the steenbok from the KGNP, Trichostrongylus axei from the blue duiker, Trichostrongylus falculatus from the bushbuck and the oribi, Trichostrongylus instabilis from the bushbuck, the steenbok from the KNP and the oribi and Trichostrongylus thomasi from the grey duikers and tsessebe. Host specificity of the parasites was not marked and cross infestation was common. This was not true for the giraffe, since none of the helminths of these animals were found in the antelope and vice versa.