A fatal Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) infection epidemic involving fifteen primates occurred between October 2006 and February 2007 at the Natura Viva Zoo. This large open-field zoo park located near Lake Garda in Northern Italy hosts one thousand animals belonging to one hundred and fifty different species, including various lemur species. This lemur collection is the most relevant and rich in Italy. A second outbreak between September and November 2008 involved three lemurs. In all cases, the clinical signs were sudden deaths generally without any evident symptoms or only with mild unspecific clinical signs. Gross pathologic changes were characterized by myocarditis (diffuse or focal pallor of the myocardium), pulmonary congestion, emphysema, oedema and thoracic fluid. The EMCV was isolated and recognized as the causative agent of both outbreaks. The first outbreak in particular was associated with a rodent plague, confirming that rats are an important risk factor for the occurrence of the EMCV infection.

Here, we investigated the possible linkages among geophagy, soil characteristics, and gut mycobiome of indri (Indri indri), an endangered lemur species able to survive only in wild conditions. The soil eaten by indri resulted in enriched secondary oxide-hydroxides and clays, together with a high concentration of specific essential micronutrients. This could partially explain the role of the soil in detoxification and as a nutrient supply. Besides, we found that soil subject to geophagy and indris’ faeces shared about 8.9% of the fungal OTUs. Also, several genera (e.g. Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium) commonly associated with soil and plant material were found in both geophagic soil and indri samples. On the contrary, some taxa with pathogenic potentials, such as Cryptococcus, were only found in indri samples. Further, many saprotrophs and plant-associated fungal taxa were detected in the indri faeces. These fungal species may be involved in the digestion processes of leaves and could have a beneficial role in their health. In conclusion, we found an intimate connection between gut mycobiome and soil, highlighting, once again, the potential consequent impacts on the wider habitat.

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Three Gram-stain-positive, non-spore-forming, microaerophilic and fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase positive strains were isolated from a faecal sample of an adult subject of the emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator). Given that the isolates revealed identical BOX PCR profiles, strain TRI 5 was selected as a representative and characterized further. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity revealed that strain TRI 5 was closely related to Bifidobacterium saguini DSM 23967 (96.4 %) and to Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum ATCC 15708 (96.2 %). Multilocus sequence analyses of five housekeeping genes showed the close phylogenetic relatedness of this strain to Bifidobacterium breve DSM 20213 (hsp60 94.1 %), Bifidobacterium saguini DSM 23967 (clpC 91 %), Bifidobacterium avesanii DSM 100685 (dnaG 80.3 %), Bifidobacterium longumsubsp. infantis ATCC 15697 (dnaJ 85.3 %) and Bifidobacterium longumsubsp. longum ATCC 15708 (rpoB 93 %), respectively. The peptidoglycan type was A3β, with an interpeptide bridge comprising l-Orn (Lys) - l-Ser - l-Ala - l-Thr - l-Ala. The DNA G+C content of strain TRI 5 was 60.9 mol%. Based on the data provided, strain TRI 5 represents a novel species of the genus Bifidobacterium for which the name Bifidobacteriumcallitrichidarum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TRI 5 (=DSM 103152=JCM 31790).

In the last years, studies on captive greater flamingos have increased. Research on zoo animals is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, to improve the knowledge on this species in zoos. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected durations of parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and individual and social behaviours performed. First, both partners were involved in parental care and displayed species-specific behaviours reported in the wild. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest (P = 0.010) and near it (P = 0.0001) and were more aggressive toward other flamingos than females, both when sitting on the nest (P = 0.003) and when near the nest (P = 0.0003). Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment. Indeed, understanding animal behaviour allows us to gain insights into their individual and social needs, addressing potential animal welfare issues.

The Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) (NBI) is one of the most threatened birds in the world. Intense conservation efforts have been undertaken and several research projects on the species are being done in Morocco and in Europe. Observing animal behaviour has been proved to be an efficient and non-invasive technique to assess the animal welfare, with the performance of a wide array of natural behaviours being one of the mostly used indicators of good mental and physical well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of a flock of 14 zoo-living NBI of different ages. The study focused on the variety of species-specific individual and social behaviours, in the light of reintroduction of the study juveniles in the wild. Per subject, 20 10-min. sessions were done. A continuous focal animal sampling method was used to collect individual and social behaviours. Behavioural data have been compared between adults and juveniles. Moreover, a Behavioural Variety Index (BVI) has been proposed and calculated based on previous literature describing natural ibis behaviours. The BVI might help in the evaluation of the variety of behaviours performed by each individual and the monitoring of the diversity of the behavioural repertoire of zoo animals. Our results showed that the birds performed species-specific behaviours and no abnormal behaviour was reported. Moreover, the BVI highlighted a good behavioural variety as each bird performed approximately 78% of the natural behaviours described in the Northern bald ibis and in close relative species. Our findings seem to suggest the presence of qualitative and quantitative similarities between the behavioural repertoires of the study ibises and those described in wild conspecifics, suggesting a good welfare of the colony. Finally, the BVI proposed in the current study seems to be a useful and practical tool to test behavioural diversity in zoo animals.

Bifidobacterium lemurum sp. nov., from faeces of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)