BACKGROUND: Feline Panleukopenia is an important disease of cats and has been reported worldwide. The disease is caused by a non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus; Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPLV), belonging to the Parvoviridae family. The disease causes significant mortality in unvaccinated kittens. The disease has been well documented in companion animals. However, only a few reports have surfaced from the wild.
METHODS: An orphan leopard cub was presented to Wildlife Rescue Centre, Nagpur, for further care; the leopard was kept under quarantine. On day 22 of the quarantine, the leopard showed inappetence, lethargy and depression and did not consume the offered carabeef (Day 0 of treatment). The leopard was examined clinically and was found to have a temperature of 102°F; blood was collected and analysed. On day one, the leopard exhibited bloody diarrhoea, inappetence, fever and depression. The leopard was rationally treated with fluids, antibiotics, multi-vitamins, haemostatics and haematinics. To gain qualitative insights into the epidemiological aspect of the disease, molecular investigation, including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and qPCR (Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction), were utilized to confirm the infection. The amplicon was sequenced and was found to be similar to sequences of FPLV reported domestic cats and other wild felids from India and abroad. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to understand the evolutionary relationship of the virus with previously reported sequences of FPLV. Sequences were submitted to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and were allotted accession numbers.
CONCLUSIONS: The infection in endangered leopard cubs could be managed with prompt fluid therapy, antibiotics and support treatment, ensuring an uneventful recovery. Molecular investigation and sequencing efforts can provide valuable data on epidemiology and the evolutionary relationship of the virus with the circulating strains in the field. The study has implications in the preventive management of FPLV in captivity and the selection of strains for inclusion in vaccines meant for the wild felids.

The jaguar, Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758), is the biggest felid in the Americas. Its range extends from the southwestern United States to northern Argentina. Herein, we present 5 nonfatal jaguar attacks that occurred in Brazil between March 2010 and November 2021. Most of the cases occurred when the victim encountered a jaguar guarding its food or cubs or devouring prey; none appeared to be the result of predatory behavior.

Three juvenile (<1 yr of age), genetically related Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis) were diagnosed with phimosis. In all cases, no clinical signs were identified, and phimosis was detected during routine examination. Surgical enlargement of the preputial orifice was performed successfully using carbon dioxide laser with a 0.25-mm tip and an 8-watt continuous wave setting. A linear incision on the ventral aspect of the preputial opening allowed for complete preputial extrusion followed by placement of simple-interrupted sutures on both sides of the incision. No postoperative complications were observed, and there was no evidence of phimosis recurrence at subsequent examinations. Preputioplasty with carbon dioxide laser was used to successfully manage Amur leopards with phimosis. Given relatedness of these cases, a genetic predisposition for phimosis development in Amur leopards must be considered.

The predicted rise of global temperatures is of major concern for ectotherms because of its direct impact on their behavior and physiology. As physiological performance mediates a species\' resilience to warming exposure, physiological plasticity could greatly reduce the susceptibility to climate change. We studied the degree to which Diplolaemus leopardinus lizards are able to adjust behavioral and physiological traits in response to short periods of temperature change. We used a split cross design to measure the acclimation response of preferred body temperature (Tp), and the thermal performance curve of resting metabolic rate (RMR) and evaporative water loss (EWL). Our results showed that plasticity differs among traits: whereas Tp and EWL showed lower values in warm conditions, the body temperature at which RMR was highest increased. Moreover, RMR was affected by thermal history, showing a large increase in response to cold exposure in the group initially acclimated to warm temperatures. The reduction of EWL and the increase in optimal temperature will give lizards the potential to partially mitigate the impact of rising temperatures in the energy cost and water balance. However, the decrease in Tp and the sensitivity to the warm thermal history of RMR could be detrimental to the energy net gain, increasing the species\' vulnerability, especially considering the increase of heat waves predicted for the next 50 years. The integration of acclimation responses in behavioral and physiological traits provides a better understanding of the range of possible responses of lizards to cope with the upcoming climatic and environmental modifications expected as a result of climate change.

The zoos manage small populations of endangered big cat species like tiger, lion, and leopard for display, research, and conservation breeding. Genetic management of these populations is essential to ensure long term survival and conservation utility. Here we propose a simple and cost effective microsatellite based protocol for the genetic management of captive big cats. We sampled 36 big cat individuals from Seoul Grand Park Zoo (Republic of Korea) and amplified 33 published microsatellite loci. Overall, allelic richness and gene diversity was found highest for leopards, followed by lions and tigers. Twelve of the thirty-three markers showed a high degree of polymorphism across all target species. These microsatellites provide a high degree of discrimination for tiger (1.45 × 10-8), lion (1.54 × 10-10), and leopard (1.88 × 10-12) and thus can be adopted for the genetic characterization of big cats in accredited zoos globally. During captive breeding, zoo authorities rely on pedigree records maintained in studbooks to ensure mating of genetically fit unrelated individuals. Several studies have reported errors in studbook records of big cat species. Microsatellites are simple and cost effective tool for DNA fingerprinting, estimation of genetic diversity, and paternity assessment. Our unified microsatellite panel (12-plex) for big cats is efficient and can easily be adopted by zoo authorities for regular population management.

We report a case study wherein we established the putative cause of the death of three leopards by identifying the species and number of individual prey species from the gut contents using molecular tools. In a National Park within Northern part of India, the suspicious death of three leopards (Panthera pardus) was reported from different localities on the same day. The gut contents from the three leopard carcasses were collected during postmortem and sent to us to confirm the prey species. We used mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b (Cyt b) and control region (CR), and nuclear microsatellites for molecular identification of species and individual identification, respectively, from the gut contents. Mitochondrial sequences confirmed that the undigested remnants collected from the gut contents were of the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). Furthermore, the microsatellite analysis of the gut contents highlighted the consumption of the same dog by all the three deceased leopards. Since the National Park was one of the major human-wildlife interaction zones, consuming the same dog by the leopards implies suspicious poisoning for revenge. The use of dog carcass for the possible poisoning for the mass-scale killing of the protected species is a severe wildlife offense.

A clonorchiasis case in a captive leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus, was confirmed by ultrasonographic findings and egg morphologies found in the bile juice sample in the Korea. The leopard cat was introduced from the wild habitat of Gyeongsangnam-do, to Cheongju Zoo in Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea in August 2014. Physical examinations were basically performed for quarantine and check-up health. The cat was comparatively good in health except anorexia. The cyst-like bile duct dilation and the increased echogenicity of gall bladder wall and hepatic parenchyma were observed by ultrasonography. Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy was conducted for collecting bile juice and the specimens were observed under light microscope. The numerous small trematode eggs were detected in the bile juice sample of the light microscopy. The eggs were 25-33 (28±3) μm by 18-22 (20±1) μm in size and showed typical characteristics of Clonorchis sinensis egg, i.e., a dominantly developed operculum, shoulder rim and dust-like wrinkles in surface. To treat the liver fluke infection, 20 mg/kg of praziquantel was orally administered only once to the case. Follow-up studies including fecal examinations were conducted during 2 years after treatment. But no more eggs were detected from the case. In the present study, we described the first clonorchiasis case of leopard cat, which was confirmed by ultrasonographic findings and egg morphologies from the bile juice sample in Korea.

In a case of negative human-leopard (Panthera pardus) interaction, an animal was burnt alive in South Rajasthan, India. We identified the species and sex of the victim animal from the ash using forensic DNA analysis. We recovered three objects (half burnt clot, stone, and shrub twig) from the ash having suspected blood stains. We extracted DNA from these items and amplified a partial fragment of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and 12S RNA genes. The sequence generated from these amplicons suggested that the victim animal was a leopard. Furthermore, amplification of a fragment of SRY (224 bp) and ZFX/Y (442 bp) genes indicated that the blood clot was of a male leopard. Although attempts have been made to remove every possible evidence from the crime scene, the species and sex of the victim animal were determined from the challenging and invisible blood stains wrapped in the ash.

Cell line establishment of somatic cells is a valuable resource to preserve genetic material of rare, difficult-to-find, endangered and giant species like Jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest South American felid. This unit focuses on the isolation and culture of fibroblasts from Jaguar skin and muscle biopsies, and ear cartilage dissection immediately after death to preserve one of the several endangered species in this biome. These culture techniques enabled us to contribute 570 samples from 45 autochthonous and endangered species, including Jaguar. The fibroblasts obtained are a part of the Genetic Bank of Buenos Aires Zoo with the 6700 samples, including tissues such as muscle, ovarian, testicular, blood, fibroblast cultures, sperm, hair, and fluids and cells from 450 individuals of 87 different species. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Large cats feeding habits have been studied through two main methods: scat analysis and the carcasses of prey killed by monitored animals. From November 2001 to April 2004, we studied jaguar predation patterns using GPS telemetry location clusters on a cattle ranch in southern Pantanal. During this period, we recorded 431 carcasses of animals preyed upon by monitored jaguars. Concurrently, we collected 125 jaguar scats opportunistically. We compared the frequencies of prey found through each method. We also compared the prey communities using Bray-Curtis similarity coefficient. These comparisons allowed us to evaluate the use of scat analysis as a means to describe jaguar feeding habits. Both approaches identified prey communities with high similarity (Bray-Curtis coefficient > 70). According to either method, jaguars consume three main prey: cattle (Bos taurus), caiman (Caiman yacare) and peccaries (Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu). The two methods did not differ in the frequency of the three main prey over dry and wet seasons or years sampled. Our results show that scat analysis is effective and capable of describing jaguar feeding habits.