Table 5.

Intestinal Parasites found in scats of wild wolves and other canids

Helminths (parasitic worms)

Cestodes (tapeworms)

Taenia spp., Echinococcus spp. Require ingestion by an intermediate host before infecting definitive host

Trematodes (flatworms or flukes)

Alaria spp. Require two intermediate hosts in water. Common in wolves, not dogs

Nematodes (roundworms)

Ancylostomidae and Uncinaria spp. Hook worms. Larvae develop into infective forms in the ova 2–9 days after being shed in the faeces. Infective larvae then develop in the environment (soil) and can then penetrate the skin of hosts.

Trichuris spp. Whipworms. Infective larvae develop in ova of shed faeces after 10–25 days

Toxocara spp. Ascarids. Infective larvae develop in ova in shed faeces in 2–4 weeks

Strongyloides spp. Pinworms or threadworms. Infective larvae hatch from ova in faeces in 2–3 days, and typically infect through the skin. Infections are usually mild.

Coccidea (single cell parasites)

Isospora spp. Oocysts develop into infective sporulated oocysts in faeces in 3‐5 days

Listed above is a classification of different genera of intestinal parasites found in dogs and in scats of wild wolves (Bynum et al. 1977; Custer & Pencet 1981; Stancampo & Francisci 1993; Marquard‐Peterson 1997; Kloch & Bajer 2005). In wild canids, several species are generally mentioned. The various parasite species of each type have the same basic life cycle. Note that the various parasite types require either an intermediate host before being infective, or require at least 2 days of development in the faeces, before being infective to the canid that is the definitive host. Life cycle information summarized from various resources (Bowman 2014).