Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of the 1) season, and 2) postmortem changes on serum biochemistries related with metabolism in Pyrenean chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica ). Serum samples from 98 animals obtained from 2009 to 2012 were included. To investigate seasonal influences on blood parameters, the Pyrenean chamois were captured in drive-nets during the feed abundant (FA; n =32) and food deficient (FD; n =35) seasons. To evaluate the possible differences in biochemistry analytes when sampling live or dead animals, we used serum samples from 32 captured animals and 31 dead animals (obtained during controlled hunting) in the FA season. Significant increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (24%), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA, 190%), total antioxidant capacity (68%), and haptoglobin (33%) were observed in FD when compared with FA seasons. Albumin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) showed statistically significant decreases of 10% and 11%, respectively, in samples taken in the FD season compared to the FA season. Statistically significant higher concentrations were found in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (22%), triglycerides (28%), acetylcholinesterase (50%), NEFA (383%), albumin (18%), IGF-1 (53%), cortisol (959%), and paraoxonase-1 (20%) in samples collected from live animals compared to samples collected from dead ones. We demonstrated that season should be taken into account when evaluating serum biochemistries in Pyrenean chamois because, in the FD season, these animals present lipid mobilization, decreased albumin and IGF-1, and increased total antioxidant capacity compared with the FA season. In addition, if samples are taken from dead animals, observed decreases in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, paraoxonase-1, acetylcholinesterase, NEFA, cortisol, IGF-1, and an increase in haptoglobin should be expected.

Border disease virus (BDV) causes high mortality in Pyrenean chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica ) on the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees Mountains. We investigated the pathology induced by BDV in pregnant chamois via experimental infection. Three females were inoculated during the second third of pregnancy with a BDV-4 subgroup strain isolated from a wild Pyrenean chamois during an acute epizootic. A fourth pregnant chamois and one nonpregnant ewe were kept as negative controls. Animals were monitored to assess clinical signs, hematology, viremia, and serology. Postmortem examinations included necropsy, histopathology, and quantification of viral RNA in organs. Pregnancy was unsuccessful in all inoculated animals. One died 24 days postinoculation (dpi) without showing any precursory clinical signs. The second animal had profuse diarrhea from 13 dpi to its death at 51 dpi. The third aborted at 46 dpi and was euthanized at 51 dpi. All animals were viremic from 4 dpi until death. Neutralizing antibodies against BDV-4 were detected from 12 dpi. Necropsies showed generalized lymphadenomegaly, associated in one case with disseminated petechial hemorrhages in the digestive tract. Seventy-eight of 79 organs from inoculated adults and their fetuses had detectable viral RNA. The main histologic lesions in adults were mild lymphohistiocytic encephalitis associated with moderate or moderately severe lymphoid depletion. Control animals remained negative for virus (in blood and organs), antibody, and lesions upon postmortem examination. BDV infection during pregnancy in Pyrenean chamois causes severe disease leading to abortion, then death. Despite 100% fetal death following inoculation, viral RNA was recovered from all organs of infected fetuses, suggesting that persistently infected offspring could be born. Our results may help explain the reported decrease in chamois populations in several areas and suggest that great care must be taken when interpreting infection status for wildlife.

The Principality of Andorra is surrounded by areas in which Pyrenean chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica ) populations were severely affected by infection with border disease virus (BDV) which caused disease outbreaks between 2001 and 2009. Nevertheless, the Andorran chamois populations were not affected during this period. In light of the severe impact of BDV on several of the neighboring Pyrenean chamois populations, we monitored local Andorran populations in an effort to detect pestivirus antibodies and BDV in wild ungulates. In addition, an episode of mortality between 2009 and 2010 in chamois was investigated. We analyzed samples (spleen or serum) from 175 Pyrenean chamois, 284 European mouflon ( Ovis orientalis musimon ), 13 roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus capreolus ), and five wild boars ( Sus scrofa castilianus ). With the exception of three dead chamois found between 2009 and 2010, all samples came from healthy animals hunted during the hunting season. A commercial blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test sera for antibodies against pestivirus. Positive sera were tested with a comparative virus neutralization test (VNT) using three BDV strains and a bovine viral diarrhea virus strain. Reverse-transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on all sera and spleen homogenates. Antibodies against pestivirus were detected by ELISA in four of the 69 chamois (5%; 95% CI= 1.29–13.11). The VNT confirmed three of these chamois were infected with a BDV. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR in three chamois—one apparently healthy animal hunted in 2009 and two dead animals. Viral sequences showed that the three chamois were infected with a BDV-4, the same genotype that was involved in previous episodes of mortality in the Pyrenees. Although Pyrenean chamois from Andorra had had little contact with the pestiviruses until 2009, in this year BDV was associated with a severe disease outbreak.

We investigated two mortality events in wintering and migrating Song Thrushes ( Turdus philomelos ) in Catalonia, northeastern Spain in 2009 and 2010. Both episodes occurred in late February to mid-March during the spring migration. Salmonellosis produced by the serotype Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Hessarek ( S . Hessarek) was identified as the cause of death in both episodes. Poor body condition, marked splenomegaly, and microscopic disseminated intravascular coagulation with numerous intravascular and tissular bacteria were the most consistent findings. Macro-restriction profiling by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using Xba I was performed for epidemiologic typing of the S . Hessarek isolates. Two clusters were discernible, that are possibly related, with a similarity of 82.8%. Analysis comparing pectoral muscle and subcutaneous fat scores from the Song Thrushes that died from S . Hessarek with those from healthy Song Thrushes from nearby areas during 2009 and 2010 suggest that poor body condition was associated with the S . Hessarek infection.

Frequent outbreaks of infectious keratoconjunctivitis have been reported in wild Caprinae in Europe. While etiologic studies in the Alps indicate that the main etiologic agent is Mycoplasma conjunctivae , there are few reports from other mountain areas, such as the Pyrenees, where M. conjunctivae has never been reported. In 2006 and 2007, five adult Pyrenean chamois ( Rupicapra pyrenaica ; two males and three females) and one adult male European mouflon ( Ovis orientalis musimon ) were studied; they exhibited clinical symptoms of infectious keratoconjunctivitis such as blindness, corneal opacity, and ulceration. In three of the five chamois tested, and in the mouflon, Mycoplasma conjunctivae was identified from conjunctival swabs by means of a TaqMan ® polymerase chain reaction based on the lipoprotein gene lppS . Cluster analysis indicated that the three southern chamois isolates form a cluster that is distinct from the mouflon isolate. This is the first report of M. conjunctivae in Pyrenean chamois, and it supports the hypothesis that M. conjunctivae also could be the main cause of infectious keratoconjunctivitis in areas other than the Alps, such as the Pyrenees.

Between October 2002 and September 2004, 70 free-ranging Spanish ibex ( Capra pyrenaica ) were captured in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, using two different physical methods, drive-net ( n =26) and box-trap ( n =44). Blood samples were taken to determine 20 hematologic and 23 biochemical variables. Values obtained fell within already published reference intervals, with the following exceptions: higher values for red blood cells (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cells (WBC), eosinophil count, triglyceride concentration, creatine kinase (CK; in box-trap), chloride, sodium, α-1, α-2, and gamma electrophoretic fractions of serum proteins; and lower values for hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), urea concentration, CK (in drive-net), albumin, and albumin:globulins ratio (A:G). Published values for aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentration are both higher and lower than observed in this study. In our study, monocyte and eosinophil counts, as well as triglyceride and potassium concentrations, were lower in animals captured via box-trap than those captured via drive-net. Conversely, MCHC, neutrophil count, total bilirubin concentration, urea, and AST were higher in animals captured via box-trap. Hematologic and biochemical values obtained from Spanish ibexes show that the drive-net is a newer, less-stressful method of capture than the box-trap.

This study describes four cases of loggerhead sea turtles with fishhooks in the gastrointestinal tract. Two dead turtles with a hook in the esophagus had local fibrosis with an invagination of the keratinized stratified squamous epithelium surrounding the hook, isolating it from the subjacent stroma, one had a hook in the cloaca which was expelled spontaneously, and one had plication of the intestine with necrosis caused by the long monofilament line attached to the hook lodged in the esophagus. Lethal injuries were related to the effect of strangulation and traction produced by the line throughout the gastrointestinal tract rather than the presence of the hook in the esophageal mucosa. Hook size, point of attachment to the gastrointestinal tract, the presence or not of a long monofilament line, and the traction applied by it could be crucial for turtle survival.

Four little bustards ( Tetrax tetrax ) (one adult and three juvenile males), captured with leg nooses and fitted with a backpack radiotag, died after capture. The first bird was found after 16 days with its left foot caught in the harness and died after 1 day. The other birds showed symptoms of capture myopathy after release, such as the difficulty or inability to fly and/or walk. They died after 5, 6, and 8 days, respectively. At necropsy, muscles affected in all cases were those from the legs, and these were diffusely pale and dull, with a soft friable texture. Microscopically these muscles had multiple foci of myofiber fragmentation, loss of striation, and necrosis; a mononuclear cell infiltrate was observed in muscle from two birds. These findings suggest the little bustard is susceptible to capture myopathy and that caution should be exercised during its capture and handling.

We describe foot infection associated with Arcanobacterium pyogenes in three adult male free-living fallow deer ( Dama dama ) from Sueve Regional Hunting Reserve (Principality of Asturias, Spain). Affected fallow deer were culled in November 1997 and 1998 during the hunting season. Necropsy, radiography, and microbiologic analysis were carried out for each animal. Unilateral swelling of one extremity at the coronary band was observed in all three cases. Areas of bone loss, severe periosteal reaction, and soft tissue swelling were seen on radiography. Lead fragments were observed in one fallow deer. Seven bacterial species were isolated, but only Arcanobacterium pyogenes was routinely found. Weather conditions in the area (mild temperatures and high humidity), the land (alternating pasture land and rock), the animal population density (both fallow deer and domestic herds of cows, horses, sheep, and goats, live side by side in the same areas), and hunting activities could be related to the frequency of these infections.

Blood samples were obtained from the dorsal coccygeal vein and the brachial vein of five adult (four females and one male) and two subadult males of marginated tortoise ( Testudo marginata ) and hematologic and biochemical parameters were compared. Significant differences were found for red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, total proteins, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus, which were greater in the brachial vein samples. Hemodilution due to lymph was observed when collecting blood from the dorsal coccygeal vein, and it is thought to be the cause of the differences found. This research documented that the brachial vein is a more reliable and consistent venipuncture site than dorsal coccygeal vein in marginated tortoise.

Paratuberculosis was diagnosed in a population of approximately 1,000 free-ranging fallow deer ( Dama dama ) sampled from 1997–98 in the Regional Hunting Reserve of El Sueve (Asturias, Spain). Five of eight animals observed with diarrhea were diagnosed as having paratuberculosis on the basis of gross lesions at postmortem examination and histopathology. In two deer, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis was cultured and identified by polymerase chain reaction. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunodiffusion tests were used to evaluate sera from 33 adult deer from this population. All fallow deer tested were seronegative.

Hematologic and serum chemistry values were determined for 20 adult captive European wildcats ( Felis silvestris ) in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). Seven wildcats (4 females and 3 males) were captured in the wild and 13 (4 females and 9 males) were born and raised in captivity. Samples were collected between September and December from 1993 to 1998. Blood was obtained by jugular venipuncture after administration of either ketamine and xylazine or ketamine and medetomidine. Females had significantly higher mean eosinophil counts, albumin concentration, (and A/G ratio) and lower mature neutrophil counts, although these differences were not clinically relevant. Results for many of the blood parameters fall within the reference range for domestic cats. Mean values for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine phosphokinase, and lactate dehydrogenase activities as well as blood urea nitrogen, glucose, and sodium concentrations were higher than the upper limit of the reference range for domestic cats.

A serological survey detected antibodies against Babesia ovis in mouflon sheep ( Ovis musimon ) from two different reserves located in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. An indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was developed using a B. ovis isolate of ovine origin as the antigen. Of 50 sera tested, six (12%) showed titres between 1:160 and 1:640 and were considered positive. These results indicate that exposure of mouflon to Babesia ovis is common in this region.