African lions (Panthera leo) are susceptible to viral diseases of domestic carnivores, including feline calicivirus infection. We report the identification of a novel enteric calicivirus, genetically related to human noroviruses of genogroup IV, in a lion cub that died of severe hemorrhagic enteritis.

The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was investigated in mammals housed in two of the main Italian zoological gardens: the Zoo Safari of Fasano (province of Bindisi, Apulia, Italy) and the Giardino Zoologico of Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy). In November 2007, fecal samples were collected at the Zoo Safari of Fasano (n = 96) and at the Giardino Zoologico of Pistoia (n = 60), from primates, carnivores, perissodactyls, artiodactyls and proboscideans. In most of the cases, the same animal species or genera were considered in both the zoos. One or more intestinal parasites were detected in 61.5% of the examined samples. However, very different percentages of protozoa- and helminth-positive samples were obtained in the animals from the two zoos, with an overall gastrointestinal parasitic infection of 77.1% in the Zoo Safari of Fasano and 36.7% in the Giardino Zoologico of Pistoia. Overall, 10% (Cryptosporidium sp.) and 43.3% (Toxocara cati, Strongyloides stercoralis, Toxascaris leonina, and hookworms) of carnivores, 66.7% (Cryptosporidium spp.) and 100% (Trichuris spp. and Strongyloides fülleborni) of primates, 25.0% (Eimeria spp., Cryptosporidium spp.), and 57.1% (Trichuris sp., Toxocara [Neoascaris] vitulorum, gastrointestinal strongyles, and Paramphistomidae) of artiodactyls were infected with protozoa and helminthes parasites, respectively. Only gastrointestinal strongyles were diagnosed in 16.7% of proboscideans and in 50.0% of perissodactyls examined. The results of this study suggest that zoonotic protozoans and gastrointestinal helminths are common in zoo mammals and that these animals may serve as a potential reservoir and transmit these parasites to humans. The different animal management in the two zoos indicates that the regular monitoring of parasitic diseases and the use of selective treatments can represent effective measures for the control of several gastrointestinal infections in zoological gardens.

One of the most productive behavioural domains to study visual communication in mammals is social play. The ability to manage play-fighting interactions can favour the development of communicative modules and their correct decoding. Due to their high levels of social cohesion and cooperation, slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are a very good model to test some hypotheses on the role of facial communication in synchronizing playful motor actions. We found that the relaxed open mouth (ROM), a playful facial expression conveying a positive mood in several social mammals, is also present in meerkats. ROM was mainly perceived during dyadic playful sessions compared to polyadic ones. We also found that meerkats mimic in a very rapid and automatic way the ROM emitted by playmates (Rapid Facial Mimicry, RFM). RFM was positively correlated with the relationship quality shared by subjects thus suggesting that the mimicry phenomenon is socially modulated. Moreover, more than the mere presence of isolated ROMs, the presence of at RFM prolonged the duration of the play session. Through RFM animals can share the emotional mood they are experiencing and this appears to be particularly adaptive in those species whose relationships are not inhibited by rank rules and when animals build and maintain their bonds through social affiliation. The meerkat society is cohesive and cooperative. Such features could have therefore favoured the evolution of facial mimicry, a phenomenon linked to emotional contagion, one of the most basic forms of empathy.

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