Spotlight on Zoo Science
September
3, 2003
Wild Dogs Get a Little Help from Their Friends
National Zoo scientists’ expertise in ecology, animal behavior, physiology, and health to help conserve wild dogs.
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| African wild dog numbers are declining due to numerous threats. |
Free-living populations of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) have declined markedly over the past several decades to fewer than 5,000 individuals. They are not alone.
Today, the numbers of many carnivore species are decreasing—victims of habitat fragmentation, competition with other carnivores, contact with humans, and disease.
For African wild dogs specifically, their numbers are diminishing mainly because of competition with other large carnivores. Now, the conservation community is interested in re-establishing populations of this endangered predator through targeted reintroductions. Scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are working in collaboration with South African scientists and wildlife managers to monitor the movements, behavior, physiology, and health of African wild dogs and their two major competitors: lions and spotted hyenas. This initiative, located in South Africa, is called the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Predator Project.
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| These African wild dogs are members of the Hluhluwe pack. |
Currently, 31 wild dogs are being monitored in three packs. The Hluhluwe pack is the largest, with 17 dogs. Two of the alpha females (each pack has one dominant female) each spent one month concealed in underground dens with new litters of pups but are currently traveling and hunting again with the rest of the pack. The Hluhluwe pack’s den is hidden deep within dense vegetation, but the more open habitat around the Umfolozi pack’s den has allowed the viewing of a strong and healthy litter of ten new pups!
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| Wild dog pack members playing. |
The primary focus of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Predator Project is on the affect of the larger lions and hyenas on the more vulnerable African wild dog. Coordinated by Zoo postdoctoral researcher Micaela Szykman, the project is designed to collect information in a novel way—by integrating National Zoo scientists’ expertise in ecology, animal behavior, physiology, and health.
Research methods include tracking radio-collared lions, hyenas, and wild dogs; non-invasive fecal hormone monitoring; mapping and contrasting home ranges of each species; and evaluating the health and well-being of reintroduced wild dogs in a competitive situation.
With regard to the wild dogs, non-invasive endocrine monitoring techniques, in combination with intensive behavioral and ecological monitoring, are expected to yield insight into how the stress of reintroduction affects their reproductive fitness, health, and survival. The research will take several years before results are conclusive.
—Robert Hoage
Photos by Micaela Szykman
Note to Media: If you would like more information about this project, or any of the Zoo's conservation and science programs, please contact the Zoo's Office of Public Affairs.
