Ecological and faunistic characteristic of raccoon (Procyon Lotor) helminthocenosis in biocenoses of the North-Western Caucasus

UDC 619:616.995.1:599.742.31:595.1

Itin G.S., Kravchenko V.M.

Summary. Authors examined 21 corpses of a raccoon from the foothill and mountain landscape-geographical zones of the Northwest Caucasus using the method of the complete helminthological autopsy. There were found 13 species of helminths, of which 3 species (23,1%) of trematodes, 2 species (15,4%) cestodes, 7 species (53,8%) of nematodes and 1 species (7,7%) thorny-headed worms. 11 species identified in the North-Western Caucasus the parasitic worms from raccoon was registered for the first time. Of the 13 recorded species of helminths in circulation 12 species as an intermediate, additional and reservoir hosts involved invertebrates, and vertebrates. Predator infection occurs mainly through trophic connections. The trophic and epizootic chains represent trophic-epizootic chains, through which the life forms of the raccoon helminths circulate. Authors revealed a high infestation of raccoon trematodes in the foothill zone, due to the high proportion of insects and amphibians in the composition of the predator feeds. Only one species of trematodes was recorded in the mountain zone, while analysis of the contents of the stomachs of raccoons showed that the consumption of insects and amphibians sharply decreased in this zone. Infestation of raccoons with cestodes in the landscape and geographical zones of the North-Western Caucasus occurs when eating rodents, which are intermediate hosts of these helminths. Rodents are one of the main raccoon feeds in both studied areas. Capsule-forming Trichinella have been found in raccoons in the biocenoses of the foothill and mountain zones, which indicates the participation of raccoons in the maintenance of natural foci of trichinosis in the North-Western Caucasus.

Keywords: raccoon, trophic epizootic chain, helminths, nematodes, trematodes, cestodes, helmintoses, biocenosis, wild predatory mammals.

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Author aff illation:

Kravchenko Viktor M., docent, D.Sc. in Veterinary Medicine, docent of the department of anatomy, veterinary obstetrics and surgery of the Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin; 13, Kalinina st., Krasnodar, 350044; phone: 8-861-2227083; e-mail: tinol65@bk.ru.

Responsible for correspondence with the editorial board: Itin Gennady S., Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, docent of the department of parasitology, veteri-nary-sanitary expertise and zoohygiene of the Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin; 13 Kalinina st., Krasnodar, 350044; phone: 8-918-012-42-53; e-mail: genn.itin@yandex.ru.