Eur
J
Wildl
Res
(2005)
51" 60-62
DOI
10.1007/s
10344-004-0072-x
Sharon L. Deem. Fiona Maisels Richard G. Robbins
Necropsy
and parasitic
findings
from
an
adult forest
buffalo
(Sy erus ca er
nanuN
f und
dead in the
Republic
of Cong 
Received"
24
September 2004/Accepted"
29
November 2004/Published online: 13 January 2005
(C)
Springer-Verlag
2005
Abstract A
field
necropsy was
performed
on a
recently
dead adult forest buffalo,
Syncerus
caffer
nanus,
found in
the
Nouabal+-Ndoki
National
Park,
Republic
of
Congo.
Based
on
the
gross
and
histological
lesions,
the
cause
of
death
was
determined
to
be
conspecific fighting.
Ecto-
parasites collected
from
this forest
buffalo
were
Ambly-
omma
sp.
(larvae) and Rhipicephalus
ziemanni
Neumann.
Endoparasites collected included
a
paramphistomid
trematode,
Carmyerius
gregarius,
and
oocysts
of
Eimeria
spp.,
paramphistomid
eggs
(presumably from
C.
grega-
rius),
metastrongylid
lungworm
larvae, and
strongylid
eggs.
Parasitic findings from this forest buffalo
were
compared
to
previous
reports
from
savanna
and
forest
buffalo.
Keywords
Endoparasites. Ectoparasites.
Forest
buffalo"
Nouabal+-Ndoki
National Park.
Republic
of
Congo-
Syncerus
caffer
nanus
S.
L.
Deem
Field Veterinary
Program,
Wildlife
Conservation
Society,
2300
Southern Boulevard,
Bronx,
NY 10460,
USA
F.
Maisels
International
Program,
Wildlife Conservation Society,
2300
Southern
Boulevard,
Bronx,
NY
10460,
USA
R.
G.
Robbins
AFPMB,
Walter Reed
Army
Medical
Center,
Washington,
DC
20307,
USA
Present
address:
S. L. Deem
()
Smithsonian's
National Zoological Park,
3001
Connecticut
Avenue,
Washington, DC
20008,
USA
E-mail"
deems@si.edu
Tel.:
+
1-202-6737980
Fax:
+
1-202-6734733
Present
address:
F.
Maisels
Institute
of
Cell,
Animal,
and
Population Biology, Edinburgh
University,
Edinburgh,
UK
Introduction
Little is known about the
forest buffalo,
Syncerus
caffer
nanus,
or
its parasites. Although
ample
parasite
data
exist for the
African
savanna
buffalo
(S.
c.
caffer), there
have been
relatively few
studies
on
parasites
of
the
forest
buffalo. This
paper
describes the
necropsy
findings
and
parasite load
of
a
freshly dead
adult
male forest buffalo
in
the Republic
of Congo.
Materials
and methods
The study
site
was a
small,
shallow forest lake
embedded
in continuous lowland rainforest in
the northern
Republic of Congo,
at
213.5'N,
1612.5'E,
west
of
Nouabal+-Ndoki
National Park. This lake is regularly
monitored
for
large
mammal activity because
forest
elephants
(Loxodonta africana cyclotis),
forest buffalo
and,
occasionally, bongo antelope (Tragelaphus
eurye-
eros)
use
it
as
a
source
of
digestible
forage
provided
by
the
abundant
algae growing in the
water
(F.
Maisels,
unpublished
data).
On
the
morning of
23
July
2001,
a
dead
adult
male
buffalo
was
found floating
in the lake. The
animal
was
first
positively
identified
on
27
February 2001.
He
was
seen
again
on
3
March
2001,
and
8
and
29 June 2001,
in
good health
at
all
times. When found
dead,
this
buffalo
was
in
good
flesh and had
no
signs of
starvation
or
illness. The
buffalo
was
determined
to
have been
dead
for
approximately
84
h
prior
to
necropsy,
since the
site
of
death had been
visited
by
the
monitoring
team
on
the
afternoon of
20
July.
The
buffalo had
a
long scratch
on
its
thigh, and there
were
a
number of
puncture
wounds
on
the skin of
the
flanks. The
small intestine
was
protruding from
two
of
the wounds.
The
puncture
sites
were
slightly
elongated.
There
was
a
large
amount
of internal bleeding
associated
with
a
laceration
and
puncture
into the muscles
of
one
thigh.
61
A field
necropsy was
carried
out
on
24 July 2001,
and
specimens
were
collected for histological and parasito-
logical examination.
Feces
were
removed
manually from
the
rectum,
and gastrointestinal material
was
collected
from the stomach, small intestine,
cecum,
and
colon.
Feces and
gastrointestinal material, including
a
single
adult
parasite collected from
the stomach,
were pre-
A
paramphistomid trematode, collected
from the
stomach,
was
identified
as
Carmyerius
gregarius.
Endo-
parasites identified from the zinc sulfate
flotation
of the
feces and the gastrointestinal
material included
oocysts
of
Eimeria
spp.,
paramphistomid
eggs
(presumably from
C. gregarius),
metastrongylid lungworm larvae, and
strongylid
eggs.
If this sample had been from
a
domestic
served in 90% isopropyl
alcohol. Ectoparasites
were cow,
the
two
Eimeria
species would have been
collected
and
stored in 90% isopropyl alcohol. Repre-
sentative
tissue
samples
were
collected for histological
evaluation and preserved
in 10%
buffered formalin. The
specimens
were
transported
to
the Field Veterinary
Program,
Wildlife Conservation Society, in
New
York,
USA.
Zinc
sulfate flotation
was
used
to
identify endopara-
E.
auburnensis and
E.
ellipsoidalis.
Additionally,
a
single
larval Amblyomma
sp. was
detected in the gastrointes-
tinal
tract.
Although
ample parasite data
exist for the free-
ranging African
savanna
buffalo (S.
c.
caffer), there
have been relatively few studies
on
parasites
of
the
forest buffalo. The published tick
collections from
S.
c.
sites from fecal
samples and
material
removed
from the
nanus
list
15
species that
appear
to
us
to
have been
gastrointestinal
tract.
The single adult fluke, collected correctly identified:
A.
astrion
D6nitz (Santos
Dias
from the stomach,
was
identified
to
species using
a
dis- 1964),
A.
cohaerens
D6nitz (Rousselot 1953),
section
scope.
Adult
ticks
were
identified
on
the
basis of
A.
pomposum
D6nitz (Rousselot 1953),
A.
splendidum
external morphology, using the keys of Walker
et
al.
(2000) and Matthysse and Colbo (1987).
Results and discussion
Histological
evaluation confirmed
skin
infection,
glos-
sitis,
and
an
infected salivary
gland;
none
of
these
findings
should
have
contributed
to
the
cause
of
death.
The
most
probable explanation
for
the death of
the
buffalo
was an
attack by
a
conspecific. After exami-
nation of photos of the
animal
and
details
of
its
wounds, leopard
attack
was
ruled
out
(P.
Henschel,
personal communication)
as
there
were no
parallel
scratches
such
as
might have been made by
leopard
claws; there
were
no
bite
marks
on
the
throat,
and
no
wounds
on
the
back
(Bailey 1993).
Forest
buffalo,
when fighting, typically
target
the
flanks
and
underside
of
their adversary (Korte 2003
and
personal
commu-
nication after examination of photos).
Moreover,
the
remains of adult buffalo,
even
forest
buffalo,
have
not
yet
been recorded in leopard
scat,
although
the
remains
of
juvenile buffalo have
been identified (Pienaar
1969;
Bailey
1993; Fay
et
al.
1995;
Henschel
et
al. 2004).
Other studies in the
forest region
have
also
never
identified buffalo remains
in
leopard
scat
(Hart
et
al.
1996;
Ososky
1998; Ray
and Sunquist
2001).
Two
tick
collections
were
obtained from the
buffalo's
Giebel
(Aeschlimann 1967),
A.
variegatum
(Fabricius)
(Morel and
Mouchet
1958), Hyalomma
truncatum
Koch
(Morel
and
Mouchet
1958),
R.
appendieulatus Neumann
(Walker
et
al.
2000),
R.
complanatus
Neumann
(Fain
1949),
R.
compositus
Neumann
(Santos Dias 1964),
R.
kochi D6nitz (Santos Dias
1964),
R.
longus Neumann
(Aeschlimann 1967),
R.
lunulatus Neumann
(Tendeiro
1952),
R.
pseudolongus
Santos
Dias (Morel
1965),
R.
senegalensis
Koch
(Morel
and
Mouchet 1958), and
R.
ziemanni
(Morel
and Mouchet 1958). Diseases of
veterinary significance vectored by these
tick species
include theileriosis
(R.
appendiculatus),
babesiosis
(R. lunulatus),
and cowdriosis
(Afrotropical Ambly-
omma
spp.). To
date,
R.
ziemanni
has
not
been associ-
ated
with
any
animal
or
human disease
(Walker
et
al.
2000). The
authors know
of
no
reports
on
the
endoparasites of
S.
c.
nanus.
Necropsies,
such
as
the
one
performed
on
the forest
buffalo
in this study,
can
be
conducted
on any
animal
found dead,
and
will provide critically
needed
baseline
information that only requires
training
in
proper
sample
handling
and human safety
precautions (Deem
et
al.
2001).
Studies
on
the diseases
and parasites
of
wild
animals
should be
incorporated
into
ongoing ecological
studies
(Deem
et
al.
2001).
Acknowledgements We
thank the Republic
of
Congo's
Ministry of
Forest
Economy
and the
Department
of
Wildlife
and
Protected
Areas, especially
Mr.
J.-P.
Onday, Director
of the
Department
of
skin"
R.
ziemanni
Neumann
(five males,
two
females)
Wildlife
and
Protected
Areas, and
Mr. B.
Djoni,
Conservator
of
and
Amblyomma
sp.
(2 larvae)
(immature
stage
of
Nouabal-Ndoki
National Park, for their
support
and
conserva-
African Amblyomma
cannot
be
determined
to
species
tion
efforts.
At the
WCS,
we
thank
Mr. Bryan
Curran
and
using morphological
characters).
R.
ziemanni
ranges
over
tropical
western
and central
Africa, from
southern
Senegal
to
Rwanda
and Burundi.
Numerous
collections
have been
made from
S.
c.
caffer, although
some
authors
regard
the
larger forest antelope, such
as
the bongo
and
bushbuck,
as
preferred hosts. Other workers
state
that
R.
ziemanni
will infest
practically
all
ungulates and
carnivores
living in forest
areas,
and
occasionally
hu-
mans
and monkeys
(Walker
et
al. 2000).
Mr.
J.
Mokoko-Ikonga,
who
were
Director
and
Assistant Direc-
tor
of the
WCS Congo Protected
Areas Programme
at
the
time
this work
was
carried
out,
for logistical
help and for
obtaining
permits
for
specimen
export.
For
identification
of
endoparasites
and histological diagnoses,
we
thank the
Diagnostic
Laboratory
of
the
College of
Veterinary
Medicine, Cornell
University;
J.M.
Kinsella,
HelmWest
Laboratory, Missoula,
Montana;
and
Mike
J.
Linn.
Many
thanks
also
to
Lisa
Korte
(n6e
Molloy)
and
Phillip
Henschel for constructive criticism
of the first
draft. Finally,
thanks
to
Eric Sanderson for carrying
the
samples
to
New
York
for examination.
62
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