Parasitic infections of the South China tigers in the Meihua Mountains have not been explored previously. Faeces of 22 South China tigers from the China Tiger Park in the Meihua Mountains were examined. Eggs of ascaridoid nematodes and oocysts of coccidia were detected by Mini-FLOTAC assay. Morphological observation and molecular characterisation of the oocysts were carried out. The prevalence of Toxascaris leonina (von Linstow, 1902) was 18% (4/22), and the highest egg per gram (EPG) count in the faeces was 27,150. The prevalence of Cystoisospora sp. was 45% (1 0/22) and the highest oocysts per gram (OPG) in the faeces was 6,000. In addition, we found one ascaridoid nematode in the South China tiger's faeces and was molecularly and morphologically identified as T. leonina. The oocysts in the faeces were sporulated in vitro and identified as Cystoisospora sp. Amplification of full-length internal transcribed spacers (ITS) resulted in sequences 1,622 bp long. Using the sequences, Cystoisospora sp. of the South China tiger was closest to Isospora belli (Wenyon, 1923) and Cystoisospora suis (Biester, 1934).

College of Animal Science Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University Nyingchi Tibet China

College of Animal Sciences Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou Fujian Province China

Engineering Research Center for the Prevention and Control of Animal Original Zoonosis Fujian Province College of Life Science Longyan University Longyan Fujian Province China

Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology College of Life Sciences Longyan University Longyan Fujian Province China

Jiangsu Agrianimal Husbandry Vocational College Jiangsu Taizhou China These authors contributed equally to this work

Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute Chinese Academy of Agriculture Lanzhou Gansu Province China

South China Tigers Breeding Institute of Fujian Meihuashan Shanghang County Fujian Province China

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