TREMATODE FAUNA OF WILD UNGULATES

Abstract

In the Russian forest zone, from 15 to 30 species of helminths were recorded in the European elk and roe deer in the areas of the habitat of wild artiodactyls, according to researchers. The purpose of our work was to study the trematode fauna of helminths in elks and roe deer caught in hunting farms of the Central region of Russia. The study objects were wild artiodactyl animals, the European elk (Alces alces), the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and the wild boar (Sus scrofa). Biological material for research (gastrointestinal tract, liver of animals, etc.) was collected during the licensed hunting period on these artiodactyls in hunting farms in the period of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. 39 animals of artiodactyls were examined (by the method of incomplete helminthological dissection), of which were 9 elks aged from 3 to 7 years, and 26 roe deer aged from 2 to 5 years, and 4 wild boars of 2–3 years old. Among wild animals, according to the results of postmortem examination, the Fasciola invasion was found in two roe deer. The prevalence of the invasion was 7.6%. When examining the liver of elks and wild boars, the causative agent of fascioliasis was not found.