Puma (Puma concolor) predating sheep in Uberlândia, Brazil: physical injuries, stress and myopathy

Abstract

Puma (Puma concolor) is in Brazil among the major species involved in human-wildlife conflicts, primarily due to the predation of sheep and goats in farms. A puma might kill from one to several animals in a single predation episode, and free-ranging flocks of goats and sheep are usually affected. These attacks are rarely witnessed and direct observation of predation is rare. We herein report three predation episodes and the cause of death of sheep kept inside paddocks in a farm located besides a major town of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Death of 31 animals was attributed to a puma as determined by circumstantial evidence, necropsy of 16 animals, laboratory findings and direct observation of the predator at the occurrence site. However, death of only eight animals was caused by traumatic injury mainly at the cervical region. The remaining animals lacked lethal traumatic injuries and post mortem examination indicated circulatory collapse (congestion of internal organs). Two surviving animals had a great increase in creatinine phosphokinase blood levels and thus death of remaining animals was attributed to stress and myopathy caused by fear and chasing of sheep trapped inside paddocks. Measures taken after the third predation episode (illumination of paddocks, pasture height control, vegetation clearance around the paddocks and closure of animals in stalls at night) prevented further attacks.

Co-infection of Cytauxzoon felis, Mycoplasma haemofelis, and the feline immunodeficiency virus in a domestic cat in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Additionally, its pathogenicity may be potentiated when associated with other pathogens, generating risks to the animal's health and contributing to an unfavorable prognosis. Moreira et al (2018) reported the presence of sheep predation by puma (Puma concolor) on the same rural property where the cat of the present report lived, alerting to the possibility of contact of vectors (ticks and fleas) with domestic and wild felines in this location and transmission of infectious agents between species. Due to the absence of work proving how transmission occurs in C. felis among felines, some authors believe in the possibility that the jaguar is a reservoir of the protozoan (Furtado et al, 2017).…”