 Corresponding author: Anthony Dawet; Phone number +2347038246596 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Jos, P.M.B. 2084,Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. A study on the gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) of wild animals found within the surrounding forests of Zuku and Rumfan Gwamna villages in Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria Anthony Dawet 1, * , Biaton David 1 , Musa Adamu Dibal 2 , Lydia Etuk Udofia 3 and David Pam Yakubu 1 1 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Jos, P.M.B. 2084, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 2 National Museum, Yoila, Adamawa State, Nigeria. 3 Department of Zoology, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpanden, Nigeria. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 14(02), 384–392 Publication history: Received on 09 April 2022; revised on 15 May 2022; accepted on 18 May 2022 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2022.14.2.0336 Abstract Parasitic infections of wild animals can lead to the death of the affected animals tending towards extinction and act as a predisposing factor for the development of secondary infectious diseases. Infected animals serve as source of infection to other wildlife and zoonosis to human. This study was carried out to determine the gastrointestinal parasites of wild animals found within the forests of Zuku and Rumfan Gwamna villages in Bassa LGA. 238 fresh faecal samples were collected from wild animals found within the forests. The samples were each prepared using direct wet mount, sedimentation and floatation techniques, and staining method. From the number examined, 227 (95.38%) samples were positive for GIP infection. Nematodes were the most prevalence (64.84%) with Ascaris lumbricoides being the highest species (46.64%), while trematodes had the least prevalence (11.45%). Age and sex had no significant effect in the parasite’s infection except Trichostrongylus retotaeformis which had significant difference (p<0.05). Among the animals infected, Giant rats was most prevalent (100%) followed by Squirrel had (94.14%), while the Adamawa turtle doves had the lowest infection (89.66 %). The result of this study shows higher prevalence of GIP infection, and presence of various genera in the study area. Hence, more study is necessary to identify the species of parasites in animals within the study area. Deworming of wild animals in the forests with broad spectrum anthelmintic is recommended to prevent zoonotic infections of people living in the communities. Keywords: GIP; wild animals; Forests; Bassa 1. Introduction Meat of wild animals widely referred to as bush meat has the advantage of having less saturated fat, which makes it healthier than other fatty meats, low calories when compared with beef and pork, high level of Eicosapentaenoic acid, an essential omega 3 fatty acid that has several health benefits and because they grow in natural environments, they are rich in vitamins and minerals. Thus, bush meat is a good source of organic meat [1]. Wild animals can predominately be affected by various gastro-intestinal parasites. Intestinal parasitic infections are major causative agents of wildlife health complications among different parts of the world [2]. Infections are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas, with the greatest numbers occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, China and East Asia. Globally over 600 million people are estimated to be infected by S. stercoralis however, since also this parasite is transmitted in areas where sanitation is poor, its geographical distribution overlaps with the one of the other soil-transmitted helminthiases. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ soil-transmitted-helminth-infections. Intestinal parasitic infections remains a major public health problem particularly in rural areas [3]. Gastrointestinal parasites of these wild games can