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Vol. 52, 2013
Leaf swallowing and parasitic infection of the Chinese lesser
civet Viverricula indica in northeastern Taiwan
Hsiu-hui
Su1, Ying-chen Su1
and Michael A Huffman2*
1Institute
of Wildlife Conservation, National Pingtung University of Science and
Technology, Pingtung 912, Taiwan
2Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin
41-2, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
Abstract
Background: Ingestion of plant
parts purportedly for their non-nutritive and/or bioactive properties
has been widely reported across the animal kingdom. Many of these
examples are viewed as behavioral strategies to maintain health by
controlling the level of parasite infections. One such behavior is leaf
swallowing, the folding and swallowing of whole leaves without chewing.
Void of any nutritional benefit, defecation of the whole leaves is
associated with the physical expulsion of intestinal parasites. Fecal
samples of the Chinese lesser civet Viverricula
indica were collected
along a fixed transect line monthly for 17 months in the Fushan
Experimental Forest, northeastern Taiwan. We inspected samples for the
occurrence of undigested leaves and parasite worms to test the possible
antiparasitic function of the behavior in this species.
Results: Of the collected feces, 14.3% contained
whole, folded, undigested leaves of grass. The co-occurrence of
undigested grass and Toxocara
paradoxura worms in the
feces was statistically significant. Adult worms of T. paradoxura were trapped inside
the fecal-grass mass or on the surface of leaves in these samples.
Increases in the T. paradoxura
prevalence and infection intensity were associated with a higher
presence of whole leaves in the feces.
Conclusions: Reported for the first
time in the context of self-medication for civet species, we propose
that swallowing grass may facilitate expulsion of adult worms of T. paradoxura, which resembles
behaviors widely reported in African great apes, bears, and geese.
Key words: Intestinal parasite control;
Undigested grass; Self-medication; Toxocara
paradoxura.
*Correspondence: E-mail: Huffman.michael.8n@kyoto-u.ac.jp
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