Jason Bilanzich

Evelyn Susana Galvez

11/10/2014

Survey of Small Carnivores in the Bolivian Chaco

Do carnivores in Bolivia Chaco carry the common pathogens of domestic carnivores?
Five different species of Bolivian carnivores were tested to find out if they carried these diseases.
Throughout the months of March 2001 to April 2005 samples were taken in three different areas.
The areas consisted of the common little villages, the region between human settlement and
protected areas and the National Park Kaa-Iya. Now with this the testing can begin to find a
conclusion of the carnivores of Bolivia.
The first area in the test is the National Park Kaa-Iya. This is a highly protected tropical
dry forest. The area is filled with all types of carnivores resulting in a perfect area to be tested.
The Isoseo Guaran are villages along the border of the national park. Like all other small
villages the Isoseno people need food this is where hunting comes into play. Almost all hunting
includes dogs cornering the prey for the hunter to kill. This is where the overlapping of wild and
domestic animals plays a part. Hunters and their dogs kill wild cats when encountered during
hunting. Domestic cats are uncommon as pets: if they are kept they live outdoors. Numerous
times the dogs attack the wild prey or follow the trails they have left behind. Bringing up the
likeliness of the direct and indirect contact with the wild carnivores.
The objective of the survey was to determine if small carnivores in the Bolivian Chaco
are exposed to common domestic carnivore pathogens. In the months of March of 2001 and
April 2005 box traps were scattered around in five different locations; dirt roads, trails, with in
the community and the buffer zone and at three research camps and within the park for testing.
Help was going to be needed to find where all the animals were located so who better to call then

Jason Bilanzich
Evelyn Susana Galvez
11/10/2014

the Isoseno. The odds for success would be increased with the help of them placing the traps in
the best areas.
After the captures of various carnivores they were immobilized. Where blood was taken
and placed in cryotubes with nitrogen preparing for the transport to the USA. The tubes are sent
and watched closely making sure the temperature stays perfect so as not effecting the samples. In
the labs each sample was tested for canine distemper virus, Leptospirosis interrogans and felids
were tested for feline calicivirus and a variety of other diseases and pathogens. In all thirty-five
individuals of five different species were captured and tested. Of interest is that no antibodies
were not found in any of the domestic cats in Bolivia. Exposure to canine pathogens was
common in all subject tested which is consistent with results from similar reports and studies of
the same like in North America and Africa.
In conclusion the survey showed that 90% of the dogs in Bolivia had similar antibodies in
common. These results show that the indirect and direct of wild and domestic is common. The
study shows the impact it has on the domestic animals but another survey could be done to see
the impact it has on the wild carnivore population in Bolivia. One way to prevent the spread of
the diseases to the domestic animals is to limit exposure to the park and the buffer zone and to
vaccinate your dogs regularly, which in turn helps prevent exposure to the wild animals. In the
end this study only exposes the possibility of exposure to and not the specific disease that the
carnivores population in the Chaco are not native to numerous pathogens of conservation
concerns.

Jason Bilanzich
Evelyn Susana Galvez
11/10/2014

Work Cited
Fiorello, Christine V., Andrew J. Nos, Sharon L. Deem, and Leonardo Maffei Maffei. "Serosurvey of Small
Carnivores in the Bolivian Chaco." Journal of Wildlife Diseases 43.3 (2007): 551-57. 27 June 2006.
Web. 15 Sept. 2014.