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Parasites Were Common but Usually Subclinical in 61 Greater Kruger Leopards

Young female leopard in a marula tree in Kruger National Park
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

Post-mortem examinations of 61 free-ranging leopards (Panthera pardus) from the Greater Kruger, South Africa protected area found parasites or parasite-associated lesions in 52 animals. Most infections produced little inflammation and were considered likely to have been subclinical — present without obvious clinical illness — but five animals had severe conditions that may have affected their health.

The records span 1998–2023 and came from opportunistic field necropsies conducted for long-term disease monitoring. Researchers examined preserved tissues microscopically and, when possible, identified worms collected during necropsy. The study therefore documents pathological findings in carcasses rather than testing living animals at randomly selected sites.

Hepatozoon and Cylicospirura were the most frequent findings

Protozoa of the genus Hepatozoon were the most frequent finding. Their reproductive stages were present in the heart muscle of 34 of 61 animals, or 56%. In many cases they produced minimal or no inflammation. One animal, however, had severe inflammation and tissue death in the heart muscle associated with Hepatozoon, without another pathogen detected in the affected tissue.

The nematode Cylicospirura pardalis was associated with inflammation of the stomach and duodenum in 31 animals, or 51%. The worms formed firm nodules in the tissue. In two animals, these lesions obstructed the outlet of the stomach. Lung inflammation attributed to metastrongylid worms occurred in 14 animals, while cysts of Sarcocystis were found in skeletal muscle in 17. The muscle cysts generally caused little or no inflammation. Single cases of Dirofilaria sudanensis, Armillifer armillatus and Linguatula serrata infestation were also recorded.

Five leopards had severe parasite-associated disease

Parasites often occurred together. Thirteen animals had one recorded parasite, 29 had two or three and seven had five or more. Besides the severe heart case and two gastric obstructions, two animals had severe mange. Four of these five severely affected animals also carried at least four additional parasite infestations.

Not every parasite could be identified to species. The lungworms were classified only as metastrongylids from their appearance in tissue. The mites causing mange were considered likely to be Sarcoptes scabiei, but specimens were not submitted for definitive identification. The species of Hepatozoon and Sarcocystis in the tissues also remained unresolved.

The carcass series cannot estimate population prevalence

The figures are not prevalence estimates for the Greater Kruger population. This was a highly selected set of dead animals, biased towards the human–wildlife interface. Most of the animals — 52 of 61, or 85% — were euthanised because they had attacked or killed a person or had severe traumatic injuries or disease. Other leopards may die without being found, and the organs available for examination varied with scavenging, the location and time of discovery, and the circumstances of death.

Variable sampling also left gaps: some organs were not collected for microscopic examination, especially when they looked normal during a field necropsy. Because many animals were euthanised for behavioural rather than clinical reasons, the authors could not determine the health significance of every infection. They conclude that a key unresolved question is what causes common, usually subclinical parasitic conditions to become potentially life-threatening disease.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mitchell, E. P., de Klerk-Lorist, L.-M., Buss, P., Reininghaus, B., & Bengis, R. (2026). Pathological findings in 61 free-ranging leopards (Panthera pardus) from the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. Part One: parasites. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 226, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2026.02.006Primary peer-reviewed research article, available online 17 March 2026. Opportunistic necropsies of 61 free-ranging leopards from Greater Kruger documented common, usually subclinical parasitic conditions and five animals with severe parasite-associated disease.

Image: Charles J. Sharp — young female African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) in Kruger National Park, South Africa, photographed 26 April 2024; Wikimedia Commons; cropped to 16:9; representative image, not one of the necropsied leopards · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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