Passive Disease Surveillance of Alpine Chamois (<i>Rupicapra r. rupicapra</i>) in Slovenia between 2000 and 2020

In this paper, we provide an overview of the causes of death of Alpine chamois (<i>Rupicapra r. rupicapra</i>) diagnosed in the national passive health surveillance of chamois in Slovenia. From 2000 to 2020, 284 free-ranging chamois provided by hunters were necropsied at the Veterinary F...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gorazd Vengušt, Urška Kuhar, Klemen Jerina, Tanja Švara, Mitja Gombač, Petra Bandelj, Diana Žele Vengušt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-04-01
Series:Animals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1119
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Summary:In this paper, we provide an overview of the causes of death of Alpine chamois (<i>Rupicapra r. rupicapra</i>) diagnosed in the national passive health surveillance of chamois in Slovenia. From 2000 to 2020, 284 free-ranging chamois provided by hunters were necropsied at the Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Depending on the results of complete necropsy, histopathological, bacteriological, parasitological, and virological examinations, a descriptive data analysis was performed. The most common causes of death in chamois were infectious diseases (82.2%), followed by non-infectious diseases (11.8%). Of all the causes of death, parasitic infections accounted for 70.3%, trauma for 9.7%, and bacterial infections for 9.3% of all cases. Less common diseases were viral infections, neoplasms, winter starvation, and metabolic disorders.
ISSN:2076-2615