Question

what are the threat faced by the hippos and the wolves of Ethiopia

Answer 1

With increasing awareness of disease as an endangering process, an assessment of which pathogens might pose a problem and their patterns of infection in natural hosts is necessary. This paper examines the exposure of sympatric Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) and domestic dogs to canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus (CAV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) in the Bale region, Ethiopia and then relates these data to population trends of wolves. Wolves (n= 30) sampled between 1989 and 1992 had been exposed to CDV, CAV and CPV, but only CAV might be able to persist in this wolf population. Anecdotal and serological evidence suggested that an epidemic of CDV occurred in the dog population of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) in 1992–93. All park dogs born since this time were seronegative to CDV, although some young dogs in the nearby urban population were seropositive. Despite evidence of CAV infection in wolves, none of the dogs sampled in the park were CAV seropositive, although this virus appeared highly seroprevalent and endemic in urban dogs. All dogs tested for CPV antibodies were seropositive. The BMNP wolf population declined in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with rabies responsible for a dramatic population reduction between 1990 and 1992. Although the population declined further up until 1995, it is not possible to assess whether the concurrent canine distemper epidemic in park dogs also affected wolves. Nevertheless, with evidence of rabies, CDV, CAV and CPV infections in sympatric domestic dogs and Ethiopian wolves, canid diseases clearly pose a significant threat to the future persistence of this Ethiopian wolf population.

Answer 2

Hey,

Ethiopia currently has the fastest growing human population in Africa. In the Ethiopian highlands these rapid changes create complex challenges for the wolves and other fascinating endemic species.

All wild canids are susceptible to pathogens transmitted from domestic dogs, which are numerous in the Ethiopian mountains and act as reservoirs for infectious disease. Rabies is the most pathogenic and is almost invariably fatal.

Rabies has been implicated in dramatic die-offs among African wild dogs, Blanford’s foxes, bat-eared foxes, and Ethiopian wolves.

Ethiopian wolf populations effectively are islands in a sea of dogs, and because of their closeness, rabies and canine distemper viruses are sometimes transmitted into the wolf population (Laurenson et al., 1998).

Long-term monitoring has revealed a series of wolf population crashes and recoveries in the Bale Mountains over the last 30 years. Recovery from epizootics indicate certain resilience, and is backed up by the re-active vaccination of wolf packs, but also highlights the significant threat that consecutive outbreaks would pose.

Same instances wolf killing for fur trade occurred in the Simien Mountains over the past five years.

In the past sport hunters occasionally killed wolves, but hunting is currently permitted. During periods of political instability in the past, when guns were more available, killings of Ethiopian wolf were not that uncommon.

Many roads have been built over the last few years across wolf range and habitat corridors. As traffic increases steadily, also does the risk of wolves being killed by vehicles.

Incompatible land uses

High altitude grasslands are crucial pastureland for the local people’s livestock, and heathlands provide much needed firewood. In many places uncontrolled use is degrading the Afroalpine ecosystem, and affect the wolves indirectly via negative effects on their prey.

It is uncertain whether less productive areas can sustain the level of grazing observed in prime wolf habitat in the Bale Mountains, where increasing livestock populations may be already exerting an unsustainable pressure.

Thanks

Jay Hind