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Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 45(1), 2009, pp. 81-90
© Wildlife Disease Association  2009
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HEMATOLOGY AND BLOOD CHEMISTRY PARAMETERS DIFFER IN FREE-RANGING MANED WOLVES (CHRYSOCYON BRACHYURUS) LIVING IN THE SERRA DA CANASTRA NATIONAL PARK VERSUS ADJACENT FARMLANDS, BRAZIL

 J. A. May-Júnior1,5, N. Songsasen2,5, F. C. Azevedo1, J. P. Santos1, R. C. Paula1,3, F. H. G. Rodrigues1,4, M. D. Rodden2, D. E. Wildt2 and R. G. Morato3,6

1 Projeto Lobo-Guará, Instituto Pró-Carnívoros, Sã o Paulo, Brazil
2 Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia, USA
3 Centro Nacional de Pesquisa para a Conservação dos Predadores Naturais-CENAP-ICMBio, São Paulo, Brazil
4 Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil
6 Corresponding author (ronaldo.morato{at}icmbio.gov.br)

ABSTRACT:   There has been growing interest in the specific impacts of anthropogenic factors on the health of wildlife. This study examined hematology and serum chemistry status of a prominent carnivore, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), living in, on the boundaries to, or on adjacent farmlands to the Serra da Canastra National Park, Brazil. Twenty-eighty wolves were captured, and values were compared 1) between subadults (n=8 animals) and adults (n=20 animals), 2) males (n=12 animals) and females (n=16 animals), and 3) among wolves living inside the park (n=11), near the park border (n=11 animals), and in neighboring farming areas (n=6 animals). Age, gender, and wolf locations influenced (P<0.05) hematology and serum biochemistry values. Specifically, adults had lower (P<0.05) circulating phosphorus than subadults. Males had lower (P<0.05) serum glucose, creatinine phosphokinase, and cholesterol and higher (P<0.05) potassium than females. Erythrocyte count and serum cholinesterase were lower (P<0.05) in wolves living within the park compared with near the park border or on farmlands. Mean corpuscular volume was lower (P<0.05) in wolves living near the park border than those ranging within the park and on farmlands. Aspartate transaminase and chloride were higher (P<0.05) in wolves living inside the park compared with those ranging near the park border. Creatinine phosphokinase was lower (P<0.05) in wolves living on farmland compared with the other two locations. These results clearly reveal a relationship between age and gender on hematology and serum biochemistry values in free-living maned wolves. More importantly, certain traits indicative of health are potentially compromised in wolves living in areas under anthropogenic pressure. These data lay a foundation for examining the influence of farming and local domestic species on disease susceptibility and fitness in the maned wolf.
  Key words:  Blood biochemistry, free-ranging, health, hematology, maned wolf.

5 These authors contributed equally to this work






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