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Hematological parameters of large carnivores obtained by blood smear examination

Large carnivores, gray wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) are endangered species in Europe and their populations are important indicator of quality and environmental preservation. Hematological profile is one of the important indicators of population health. The aim of this study was to assess some hematological parameters from the blood smears and to obtain morphometric features of erythrocytes. Eighteen blood smears of three different adult carnivores originated from Eastern Turkey were used in this study, 5 from gray wolf, 9 from brown bear and 4 from Eurasian lynx. From the blood smears total leukocyte count, differential leukocyte count and reticulocyte percentage were estimated. Diameter, surface area and perimeter of erythrocytes were analyzed using CELLᶺB special software. The average leukocyte count of gray wolf was 12.69x10³/µl, brown bear had 11.93x10³/µl leukocytes and Eurasian lynx 7.64x10³/µl, with segmented neutrophils as dominant cells in all animals. Reticulocyte percentage of gray wolf was 4.20 %, of brown bear 1.88% and Eurasian lynx 3.75%. In morphometric analysis the average diameters of gray wolf, brow bear and Eurasian lynx erythrocytes were 6.09 µm, 5.51 µm and 5.13 µm, respectively. Erythrocyte surface area in wolf, bear and lynx was 30.56 µm², 29.51µm² and 24.82 µm², respectively. Erythrocyte perimeter in wolf, bear and lynx was 23.55 µm, 22.56 µm and 20.62 µm, respectively. Evaluated total leukocyte count was not significantly altered compared to the literature data for the same species. Since there are no reference values for the reticulocyte percentage as well as for the erythrocytes morphometric features in large carnivores further studies are required to determine physiological values in this species. We find our results to be a useful framework for the future research in the field of large carnivores hematology.

Large carnivores, hematology, blood smears

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