Clinical Evaluation, Hematology, and Serum Chemistry of Ocelots ( Leopardus pardalis ) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

FREE-RANGING OCELOTS (LEOPARDUS PARDALIS): HEMATOLOGY AND SERUM CHEMISTRY REFERENCE VALUES

Acquiring baseline physiologic data for animals from a free-ranging wildlife species is an elusive objective. Between 1990 and 2020, a monitoring program on the last population of ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) to inhabit public land in the United States yielded 139 blood samples from 67 individual animals. Ocelots were live trapped and anesthetized for census and radiotelemetric studies. The protocol included morphometrics, photographs, electronic identification, and blood collection. Complete blood count and serum chemistry were performed, and after sorting of the data to remove unhealthy individuals and occasional outliers, the dataset provided sufficient information to compute reliable reference intervals (RI). According to the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology consensus guidelines, RI should be elaborated by using data from each reference individual only once. RI by random selection was determined when several measurements were available over time from one same animal. Second, RI were also computed allowing repeat measurements for reference individuals, exclusively to characterize and quantify the effect on the data distribution and on the generated RI. A summary of published RI for various species of wild felids is also presented. The variations observed between species is due not only to species differences but also to variation in measurement methods and RI study design. Overall, accurate blood work interpretation requires RI generated from a healthy population, with defined measurement methods and state-of-the-art RI study design. Of note, calcium is typically tightly regulated in all mammals, as illustrated by the narrow RI (8.5-10.8 mg/dl); conversely, finding a narrow RI in calcium across as many as 49 healthy individuals suggests a high-quality design study.

Density and habitat use of one of the last jaguar populations of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Is there still hope?

The jaguar (Panthera onca) plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes. We evaluated the status of a jaguar population in one of the last stronghold habitats for its conservation in the Atlantic Forest, the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP). We used a random survey design from 2016/17 to estimate jaguar abundance and density as well as its occupancy and detection probabilities in the entire Park's area. To monitor for temporal fluctuations in density and abundance, we used a systematic survey design in the southern portion of the Park where jaguars were more recorded when using the random approach. We then conducted two surveys in 2017/18 and 2020. Our 2016/17 random survey revealed that jaguar density (0.11 ± SE 0.28 individuals/100 km2) was the lowest obtained for the species across the Atlantic Forest. We noticed that jaguar density increased three times from 2017/18 (0.55 ± SE 0.45 individuals/100 km2) to 2020 (1.61 ± SE 0.6 individuals/100 km2). Jaguar occupancy and detection probability were 0.40 and 0.08, respectively. The low jaguar occupancy probability was positively associated with smaller distances from lakes and records of potential prey. The detection probability was positively associated with prey detection, the rainy season, and smaller distances from lakes. Our work contributes to a growing awareness of the potential conservation value of a protected area in a human-dominated landscape as one of the last strongholds for jaguars across the Atlantic Forest.

Dystocia and cesarean section in a free-ranging ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) after traumatic spinal cord injury resulting from dog (Canis familiaris) attack

Background:

Ex situ breeding programs are essential to establish genetic resource banks and produce offspring to strengthen the in situ conservation of endangered species. However, many programs fail to maintain viable ex situ populations due to reproductive problems, including dystocia in pregnant females. Dystocia encompasses different emergency obstetric situations for the lives of dams and fetuses that require urgent intervention. This condition has been studied in domesticated species but published records in wildlife, specifically in felines species, are scarce.

Case Description:

An adult female ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) was referred to the wildlife hospital of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito after being attacked by dogs (Canis familiaris). Neurological tests revealed traumatic spinal cord injury at a thoracolumbar level. Complementary tests (laboratory exams, radiographs, and ultrasound) revealed a full-term pregnancy, failure in the labor progress, and critical fetal stress. A cesarean section was performed, and the newborns received resuscitation care after assessing their viability using the Apgar score system. The neonate with the lowest Apgar score died within the first hour after birth, while the second one showed an increase in Apgar score after resuscitation care and survived the procedure.

Conclusion:

We provide new obstetric data that could be relevant to save the lives of dams and newborns in related cases for ocelots and other species of wild felids. Furthermore, this study confirms the adverse effects that domestic dogs have on wildlife species.

SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY AND SELECT MINERAL PARAMETERS OF PRE-RELEASE SUNDA PANGOLINS (MANIS JAVANICA) FOLLOWING REHABILITATION IN VIETNAM

Native to Southeast Asia, the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) is critically endangered largely because of poorly regulated wildlife trade, consumptive practices, and use in traditional Chinese medicine. Efforts to rescue and rehabilitate animals confiscated from the illegal trade are complicated by a general lack of knowledge surrounding the normal health and disease processes unique to the species. To provide clinical reference intervals for normal health states of Sunda pangolins, biochemical parameters were determined from rescued individuals in Vietnam that had undergone a 14-day observation period and met a set of criteria for release back into the wild. Blood samples were collected from 42 apparently healthy Sunda pangolins while anesthetized or awake. Packed cell volume (PCV) and total solids (TS) were determined manually, and serum biochemistry values were determined in-house with a benchtop analyzer. Additional biochemical and mineral parameters not included in the primary panel were determined from a subset of 10 pangolins through an external diagnostic laboratory. Overall reference intervals were calculated for PCV and TS (n = 29) and for standard serum biochemistry parameters (n = 42). Females and males demonstrated significant variation with respect to body mass, potassium (K+), and phosphorus, whereas age was a significant source of variation in alkaline phosphatase. Seasonal variation in glucose (GLU), creatinine (CRE), total proteins, sodium, calcium, and K+ was also observed. Comparisons between anesthetized and awake pangolins demonstrated significant variation in GLU, CRE, and K+. The parameters determined in this study can serve as a clinical reference for ex situ Sunda pangolin conservation efforts. In the context of wildlife rehabilitation, serial bloodwork allows for continued monitoring of patient health and should inform decision making regarding release readiness and timing.

Live-trapping Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis): traps, baits, injuries, immobilization and costs

Abstract The capture of wild animals can provide important information on community structure, population dynamics, home range size, activity patterns, habitat use, denning, social behavior and health status. The objective of this study was to describe the method of capture with details on baits, injuries, non-target captures, anesthesia and costs, to evaluate its success as part of a health evaluation program of ocelots in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest Reserve. From a total of 1,011 trap-night effort in 86 days, we had 68 capture events composed of ocelots (22%, n=15) and non-target species (78%, n = 53). We captured 10 individual ocelots in 15 capture events, corresponding to 5.7 days to capture one ocelot. Capture efficiency was 14.8 ocelots/1,000 trap-nights effort. We suggest capture methods should be selected and implemented based on the following criteria: (i) high capture efficiency; (ii) high selectivity; (iii) low injury rate; (iv) high immobilization suitability; and (v) low costs, in order to enable comparisons of studies from different research groups and from different study areas, allowing a deliberate choice of the best method.