Gastro-intestinal parasites of sympatric red panda and livestock in protected areas of Nepal

Disease transmission among human, domestic animals and wildlife can have profound consequences in human health, wildlife conservation, and maintenance of biodiversity. This issue can be particularly important for threatened... [ view full abstract ]

Disease transmission among human, domestic animals and wildlife can have profound consequences in human health, wildlife conservation, and maintenance of biodiversity. This issue can be particularly important for threatened wildlife species, yet such information remain scarce due to logistic difficulties. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a globally threatened species challenged with habitat fragmentation and human disturbance. In Nepal, livestock grazing is recognized as one of the major threats to red panda. In this study, we systematically sampled sympatric livestock and red panda in two separate protected areas to provide the first empirical data on their gastro-intestinal parasite fauna, including the prevalence, parasite richness and parasite load. We documented 11 parasite taxa (7 nematodes, 2 cestodes, 1 trematode and 1 coccidian), of which 8 are shared by both livestock and red panda. Furthermore, parasite prevalence, parasite load and parasite richness are generally higher in the livestock than the red panda. These results suggest that cross-transmission of parasites between livestock and red panda are likely, and the livestock may be a competent agent bringing disease to both red panda and human. Therefore, managing human-livestock-wildlife contact to reduce disease risk to all parties should be a key component in conservation planning of protected areas. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic survey on parasites of sympatric livestock and red panda in wild, and our findings raise concern about the role of livestock mediating disease dynamics in the red panda.