Diet, parasites, and other pathogens of Sunda leopard cats ( Prionailurus javanensis Desmarest 1816) in Aborlan, Palawan Island, Philippines

This study is the first investigation of parasites and other pathogens present in Sunda leopard cats ( Prionailurus javanensis ) in Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines. With the nature of wild carnivore sampling, four (4) wild Sunda leopard cats were captured in Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines for a period of nine (9) months. Of these, three (3) were considered for blood and fecal examination due to the poor condition of one animal. Rapid diagnostic kits were used to detect the presence of selected pathogens in blood samples while fecal samples were examined for parasite fauna and diet contents. Nine (9) parasite species were identified namely: Toxoplasma gondii , Ancylostoma sp., Capillaria hepatica , Echinostoma sp., Hymenolepis nana , Isospora felis , Physaloptera sp., Trichostrongylus sp., and a fasciolid. Chlamydophila felis , a bacterial pathogen was also detected in the blood. No individuals were found to be positive for feline immunodeficiency virus, feline infectious peritonitis virus, and feline leukemia virus antibodies. Six (6) small mammal prey species were identified from the feces of Sunda leopard cats namely: Palawan spiny rat ( Maxomys panglima ), Asian house rat ( Rattus tanezumi ), Polynesian rat ( Rattus exulans ), house mouse ( Mus musculus ), Southern Palawan tree squirrel ( Sundasciurus steerii ), and Palawan treeshrew ( Tupaia palawanensis ). Sunda leopard cats in Aborlan, Palawan, may be highly infected by parasites primarily due to their diet of small mammals such as rodents. Transmission is also possible through environmental contact with contaminated water or soil or direct physical contact with infected domestic animals. This paper contributes to the knowledge on host-parasite systems in wildlife ecosystem in the Philippines which is extremely poorly understood.