An Examination of Parasitic Infection and Cortisol Measurement with Feces from Captive Apes Kept in a Zoological Garden

Abstract

　A fecal examination of captive apes kept in two zoological gardens, including Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, and Hylobates lar, was performed. The eggs of Trichuris sp., Enterobius sp., and/or Strongyloides sp. and the oocysts of Eimeria sp. were detected. This is the first record of the genus Eimeria in H. lar. An assay of the stress hormone cortisol in the feces was performed in two individuals of P. pygmaeus infected with Trichuris sp. and in an individual with no nematodes. No statistically significant differences among the individuals were detected. The assay was performed before and after the administration of an anthelmintic drug. No statistically significant difference between the individuals infected with nematodes was detected.