Gastrointestinal Parasite infection in Semi- captive Primates at Drill Ranch, Cross River State, Nigeria
Gastrointestinal parasites in semi-captive primates is of serious concern to Non-Human Primates (NHP) as it can impact on the health and well-being of the semi-captive animal as well as it’s keeper because of potential zoonotic implications. This study was conducted at the drill ranch to assess the gastrointestinal parasite species richness as well as diversity and intensity in two groups of primates. The study was conducted using the floatation method. Parasites identification was limited to only morphological features of the parasites using low power microscope. Results revealed that parasitic infection was very high in semi-captive drill monkeys group (76%), more than in semi-captive Chimpanzees group (24%). Eight different parasite taxa including Gardia, Entamoeba; Ancylostoma, strongyloides and Schistosoma spp. were identified in the semi-captive primates groups and the infection intensity was very high in the drill monkeys group (3000eggs/gram). The identified gastrointestinal parasites were similar to some already reported by previous authors in Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that regular deworming should be done on the semi-captive primates and that, efforts should be made by the ranch authorities to decongest the enclosures as reasonably as it is possible because primates with a higher density in the enclosures like the drills, had higher parasitic infections intensity.
Keywords: Gastrointestinal parasites, semi-Captive Primates, Drill Ranch, Nigeria.
