Assessment of Gastrointestinal Parasites with Zoonotic Potential in Two Communities of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) from Guinea-Bissau and Its Implications for Conservation

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), our closest relatives, are classified as Endangered in the IUCN Red List and their survival is menaced by anthropogenic pressures, such as hunting, the pet trade, climate change and habitat fragmentation. One additional threat is posed by infectious parasitic diseases with zoonotic potential. The aim of this study was to characterise the gastrointestinal symbionts of two communities of wild chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau, one living inside a protected area (Cufada Lagoons Natural Park) and the other outside (i.e., Nova Sintra, Tite sector) in terms of their prevalence and richness. Our hypothesis was that significant differences among the chimpanzee parasitofauna in the two areas would be observed and, in particular, that a higher number of typical human parasites would be observed in chimpanzees living outside the protected area, due to contact with humans and livestock. Fresh faecal samples were collected non-invasively (n = 155) from unhabituated chimpanzees and examined by performing standard parasitological analyses of flotation and sedimentation techniques. Descriptive statistics and multivariate inference was used to interpret the results. Surprisingly, results indicate that the chimpanzee community living inside the Natural Park harbours a higher parasite prevalence with zoonotic potential. The role of protected areas for chimpanzee conservation, therefore, needs to be rethought.