Over a 3-yr span, two juvenile lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor), two green jays (Cyanocorax yncas glaucescens), and two Montezuma oropendolas (Psarocolius montezuma) died peracutely with no premonitory signs at a zoological park in the southern United States. At necropsy, the birds were in excellent body condition. Except for one green jay, the coelomic cavities were filled with a dark serosanguineous fluid. Splenomegaly and hepatomegaly were present. The livers were tan to purple with numerous, randomly distributed red-to-black foci, ranging in size from 1 to 4 mm. The predominant histopathologic finding, except in one green jay, was large protozoal cysts in the hepatic parenchyma. Histologically, the protozoal cysts were restricted to the liver, and none were identified in the skeletal muscle, spleen, or other tissues. Frozen tissue samples harvested at necropsy had a nested polymerase chain reaction assay performed to amplify the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene of the protozoa. The amplified gene sequences were compared with reference cytochrome B gene sequences for avian Plasmodium spp., Haemoproteus spp., and Leucocytozoon spp. The protozoal parasite within the hepatic parenchyma from the Montezuma oropendolas and the lesser flamingos was identified as Haemoproteus spp. Both green jays had Plasmodium spp. isolated from the submitted tissue samples. The peracute nature of the infections precluded any successful medical intervention, making prevention by exclusion the principal means to control hemoprotozoal transmission. There are no reports in the literature documenting identified fatal hemoprotozoal infections in oropendolas, green jays, or lesser flamingos.

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Cryopreservation of spermatozoa from free-living ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) could benefit their conservation by facilitating gene flow between in situ and ex situ populations without requiring removal of additional cats from the wild. The objective of this study was to investigate three different methods of ocelot sperm cryopreservation to identify the most appropriate technique for use in a field environment. Male ocelots (n = 10), housed in North American zoos, were anaesthetised with tiletamine-zolazepam (7 mg kg(-1) bodyweight; i.m.) and subjected to a regimented electroejaculation procedure. Recovered semen was evaluated for sperm concentration, motility and morphology and processed for cryopreservation by three methods: (1) pelleting on dry ice, (2) freezing in straws over liquid nitrogen vapour; and (3) freezing in straws in a dry shipper. Frozen samples were thawed and assessed for post-thaw acrosome status, viability, motility over time and ability to fertilize viable domestic cat oocytes. Although several post-thaw sperm parameters varied (P < 0.05) among freezing methods, frozen-thawed ocelot spermatozoa from all treatments showed a similar (P > 0.05) capacity to bind, penetrate and fertilize viable domestic cat oocytes. These findings suggest that spermatozoa collected from male ocelots under field conditions may be frozen in straws either using liquid nitrogen alone or in a charged dry shipper to retain adequate functional competence after thawing for use with assisted reproductive procedures.

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