Rw. Ashford et al., PATTERNS OF INTESTINAL PARASITISM IN THE MOUNTAIN GORILLA GORILLA-GORILLA IN THE BWINDI-IMPENETRABLE FOREST, UGANDA, Journal of zoology, 239, 1996, pp. 507-514
The intestinal parasite fauna of the mountain gorillas of Bwindi-Impen
etrable Forest, Uganda was studied by means of faecal examination and
a single post-mortem. The fauna was remarkably uniform between social
groups and individuals, showing only slight differences between age gr
oups; there is no evidence of any interaction between the parasites ob
served. The only protozoa were entodiniomorph ciliates; amoebae and fl
agellates were absent. Helminths included a single host-specific cesto
de species and at least five nematodes, three of which are host-specif
ic. The closest relatives of the host-specific parasites are found in
ungulates and paenungulates, not in hosts phylogenetically related to
the gorilla. This unique and specialized parasite fauna deserves to be
monitored so that any effects of the habituation of the gorillas for
tourism can be assessed.