Histopathological lesions found in road-killed guignas (Leopardus guigna) in anthropized areas of central Chile and Chiloé Island: preliminary results

The guigna (Leopardus guigna) is considered the feline with the most restricted distribution area in the world, and is only found in the south-central part of Chile and southern Argentina. It is closely linked to forest... [ view full abstract ]

The guigna (Leopardus guigna) is considered the feline with the most restricted distribution area in the world, and is only found in the south-central part of Chile and southern Argentina. It is closely linked to forest habitat and classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, being habitat loss its main threat. In the last decades, the rate of forest loss and anthropization of natural areas in Chile has increased, especially in central Chile and Chiloé Island. Road kills are one of the most important impacts for wildlife inhabiting anthropized landscapes, particularly affecting the mesocarnivores. Studying these road-killed carnivores can give us additional and valuable information on this cryptic species.
The objective of this study is to analyze the histopathological lesions found in road-killed guignas from anthropized areas in Central Chile and Chiloé Island.
A total of 11 animals have been studied, five from Chiloé Island and 6 from Central Chile. One guigna was a subadult and ten were adults, six were females and five males. A complete necropsy of each animal was conducted, followed by sample collection. Samples for histopathology were fixed with Glyofix® for subsequent histopathology analysis with Hematoxylin-Eosin staining.
Macroscopically, 100% of the animals presented bone fractures, hemothorax and hemoperitoneum as a result of the road kills. Histopathologically, bronchoalveolar edema was observed in 88.9%, alveolar hemorrhage in 55.6% and interstitial pneumonia in 55.5% of the animals. 66.6% of the animals had enteritis associated with parasites, including all the animals from Chiloé Island; 55.6% of the total had depletion of Peyer's patches and 77.8% of the total animals showed interstitial nephritis.
A high proportion of the analyzed animals presented pre-existing lesions suggestive of active infections, which will be further investigated.