GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITIC PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY: A PRELIMINARY SURVEY ON SYMPATRIC UNGULATES IN TATAKUTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, JAMMU

The protected areas of Pir Panjal range remain under heavy livestock grazing pressure from May to October which results in sharing of a habitat with their wild counterparts in the natural habitats. This increases competition for different resources, besides posing a threat of various infectious diseases like those caused by gastrointestinal helminths. The present study was aimed to evaluate the gastrointestinal parasitic load of domestic livestock (sheep and goat) and goral (Naemorhedus goral) grazing in the Tatakuti wildlife sanctuary. Among 222 samples of goat, sheep and goral, 160 (72.07%) were positive for one or more species of parasites. Out of 90 samples of sheep, 75 samples of goat, and 57 samples of goral examined during this study, 74 (82.22%) of sheep, 55 (73.33%) of goat and 31(54.38%) samples of goral were infected by one or more species of Helminth parasites with an overall prevalence of 72.07%. Most of the samples were found infected with the mixed infection of parasites. The most prevalent parasite recorded in the study was Haemonchus spp. (59.45%) followed by Nematodirus spp. (56.75%), Trichuris spp. (54.50%), Strongyloides spp. (52.70%), Trichostrongylus spp. (49.45%), Moniezia spp. (44.14%) and Fasciola spp. (42.79%).