BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Mamm. Sci.
Sec. Life History and Conservation
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmamm.2025.1634247
This article is part of the Research TopicGlobal Threats to Otter Health: Parasites, Disease, and Anthropogenic StressorsView all 4 articles
Exposure of free-living Lontra longicaudis (Neotropical otter) to domestic carnivores and their associated pathogens in a protected area in Brazil
Provisionally accepted
Greice Zorzato Gonchoroski1,2*
Jose Reck3
Lauren Santos Mello4Vinicius Proença Silveira4
Vagner Ricardo Lunge4
Caroline Leuchtenberger2,5
Thales Renato Ochotorena De Freitas1- 1Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- 2Giant Otter Conservation Fund, Arroio do Meio, Brazil
- 3Instituto de Pesquisas Veterinárias Desidério Finamor, Eldorado do Sul, Brazil
- 4Simbios Biotecnologia, Cachoeirinha, Brazil
- 5Instituto Federal Farroupilha - IFFAR, Santa Maria, Brazil
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The Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) is a semiaquatic mustelid widely distributed across all Brazilian biomes. However, its conservation is increasingly threatened by growing interactions with domestic animals, especially dogs and cats, which create opportunities for pathogen transmission and disease emergence in wild populations. The aim of this study was to assess the exposure of Lontra longicaudis to domestic carnivores and to pathogens associated with these species within a protected area in southern Brazil. For this, we investigated the overlapping occurrence of otters, domestic dogs, and cats in the study area, as well as the exposure to major pathogens commonly associated with dogs (Canine Distemper Virus - CDV, Canine Parvovirus type 2 - CPV, and Neospora caninum) and cats (Toxoplasma gondii and Feline Leukemia Virus - FeLV) in Neotropical otters. Samples from six otters were analyzed. Most of them presented antibodies against CDV (83%), CPV (66%), and T. gondii (66%), while none were seropositive for N. caninum or reagent for FeLV antigen. Direct observation and camera trap monitoring allowed identification of overlapping records of otters, dogs and cats. Our results indicate that Neotropical otters, even in protected areas, are exposed to domestic carnivorans and their pathogens, increasing the likelihood of zoonotic disease cycles with wildlife.
Keywords: Mustelid, neotropical, otter, dog, cat, Distemper, Toxoplasmosis, Disease
Received: 23 May 2025; Accepted: 02 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gonchoroski, Reck, Mello, Silveira, Lunge, Leuchtenberger and Freitas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Greice Zorzato Gonchoroski, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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