Gastrointestinal parasite community in the critically endangered West African lion

Abstract

Large carnivores of Africa, such as lions (Panthera leo), suffer from prey depletion and habitat fragmentation, that possibly impact the composition of the gastrointestinal parasite community. West African lions are particularly important, as this population is critically endangered and yet little is known of their gastrointestinal parasite community, which can reflect the health and resilience of the host population. From fecal samples collected in the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) transboundary protected area complex in Burkina Faso and Niger, we identified 309 oocysts of at least five different species using fecal flotation and sedimentation tests. We also compared these gastrointestinal parasites to other results from surveys of lions from Southern and East African regions and found similar taxa to previous surveys, but lower species richness across West African samples.