Threat to Recover: Rabies

Did you know that there is a canid in Ethiopia that is not only a highly endangered species but also in danger of die off from rabies being spread by unvaccinated dogs? There are less than 500 Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) left in the world. The Ethiopian wolf is a distinct canid species but closely related to the gray wolf (Canis lupus). By September 2003, 50 wolves had died in the Bale Mountains, home to two core recovery areas for the rare wolf. In January 2004, 75-81% of the Web Valley population had been lost due to rabies. The Web Valley is one of the two core areas in the Bale Mountains the other being the Sanetti plateau. The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) experienced a rabies scare before in 1991, when the world population dropped from 450 to 120 wolves.

This time the threat of extinction is being controlled by an unprecedented vaccination operation. This is the first time wildlife in Ethiopia has been vaccinated to contain a rabies epidemic. The EWCP has teamed up with organizations such as the Bale Mountain National Park, Center for Disease Control, and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organization to trace and control the spread of the disease. Ongoing emergency measures include combing the park for sick or dead wolves, collecting samples for analysis, and inoculating remaining unvaccinated domestic dogs. The wolves are trapped and sedated before being vaccinated and released. Four weeks after primary vaccination, the inoculation team attempts to recapture wolves to investigate the immune response and deliver a booster dose. Through handling these rare species, valuable information is being collected. The vaccination campaign was slated to continue until March however a continuation of the intervention was proposed and is awaiting approval.