The dogs in Kruger are working dogs and are all immunised against the canine diseases. They are way to valuable and way to expensive to be left without the necessary veterinary care. As such they are not responsible for the transfer of canine distemper to the wild dog population. Not one of the working dogs at Lower Sabie has been affected by canine distemper.
Wild dogs roam over vast areas and can easily interact with the thousands of domestic animals on the border of the park. The disease can also be transmitted by other wild animals which have come in to contact with domestic animals and then come in to contact with the wild dogs.
Imberbe = Combretum imberbe = Leadwood = Hardekool = The spirit of the Wildernis!
"Wilderness cannot be conquered, it becomes part of you and enriches your soul." - Louis
This incident below did not happen in a national park, but is shows the threat the wild dog population is facing:
CANINE DISTEMPER VIRUS IN HLUHLUWE-IMFOLOZI PARK
Print Email
Published Date Hits: 108
Wild dog 1 smallEzemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo) and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has to sadly announce that the Wild Dog pack in the north of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (commonly referred to as the Crossroads pack) has died due to suspected Canine Distemper Virus.
Officials of Ezemvelo and EWT were on routine monitoring of the pack through the use of a VHF tracking collar fitted to the pack’s beta female when they made the discovery. This collar indicated that the pack had been stationary for 36 hours. This observation was made three weeks or so ago and given the highly active nature of Wild Dogs, which tend to hunt twice a day, the alarm was raised.
On approaching the location of the collar, the officials discovered a number of dead Wild Dogs, while others were lethargic and showing signs of illness, including neurological problems and laboured breathing. These animals were monitored, food and care was offered over the next few days, but unfortunately all ultimately succumbed to their illness, despite the team’s best efforts.
Ezemvelo veterinarians conducted the post-mortem. Earlier indications are that the entire Wild Dog pack died from Canine Distemper Disease, however, confirmation is still required from the samples that have been sent off for analysis.
African Wild Dogs are the most endangered carnivore in South Africa, yet Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park holds the second largest population in the country after the Kruger National Park. The death of this pack of 12 Wild Dogs has reduced the number of Wild Dog packs in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park to six and the total number of Wild Dogs in the park to 57.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park has, over the years, acted as a feeder population to numerous other national parks and private game reserves around South Africa and the loss of this pack is a large blow for the National Metapopulation that has now been reduced by 5%. Additionally, not only has the loss of this pack reduced the national population (which includes Kruger National Park and some free roaming wild dogs) of wild dogs by 2.5% but this also follows on from cases of Canine Distemper Virus being confirmed in Wild Dogs from Khamab Kalahari Reserve in 2013 and more recently in Kruger National Park and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in 2016. Canine Distemper Virus has been shown to infect numerous species worldwide and is not confined to carnivores.
With this in mind, Ezemvelo and EWT teams have developed a plan of action to prevent similar losses occurring in the future. This includes, as a priority, vaccinating all individuals of two key packs in the park. These individuals will be revaccinated in a year’s time to determine the longevity of the vaccine in Wild Dogs.
Simultaneously, all blood samples taken in the park over the last five to ten years will be analyzed in order to determine what level of natural immunities to disease (including Canine Distemper Virus) occur within the Wild Dog population in the park.
The health and progress of all Wild Dogs in the park will continue to be monitored closely over the next 12 months, as was indeed always the case. This action plan follows a very similar approach to that of Kruger National Park in order to align results and knowledge gained into a national understanding for the future conservation and protection of Wild Dogs against infectious diseases.
Imberbe = Combretum imberbe = Leadwood = Hardekool = The spirit of the Wildernis!
"Wilderness cannot be conquered, it becomes part of you and enriches your soul." - Louis
Because of the itinerant nature of wild dogs, as well as their tendency to group together, a wild dog sighting for me has always been at the top of my predator-sightings list. Unless you have detailed information of denning dogs, the ability to see these magnificent animals seems more to do with luck than actually looking for them. If anyone knows how to improve the number of sightings in any given time period, please let me know as thirty years of trying has yielded only 21 sightings. There is no two ways about it - everything has to be done to save this stunning creature, and it is fully heartwarming to see how efficiently nature conservationists have formulated a strong and rapid intervention in the light of the recent tragedies. Thank you immensely to all who dedicate their lives to keeping our wildlife heritage alive! It is, in fact, nothing less than our sincere and heartfelt duty for everyone of us to donate funds to these efforts so that all may enjoy the fruits of these amazing people's work.
1. Check daily on Latest Sightings... you will notice there are pups on the S1 just west of S65 currently/same on H1-1 around Shitlave dam area... a huge pack around Orpen/H7 (I never find them ... lol)... and another big pack around Balule/Olifants... and the usual Skukuza/Phabeni/Berge en Dal/Crocodile Bridge packs (LS all dead)...
2. When you get to Kruger, check your SIGHTINGS BOARD for YESTERDAY AND TODAY... do this at the gate, at the camp, at every camp you stop at...
3. If wild dogs were on the H4-1 east of Skukuza yesterday, and were seen near the H11 today, then most likely they will be about 5-10 km further west on the S65/S1 or S3 or Delaport dam area on H1-1 tomorrow... FIRST check where they were seen TODAY... they usually sleep somewhere close by and get up 1 hour before sunset when it cools down....
4. ASK at picnic sites/ablutions/tour operators... people love telling you what they saw!
In December 2014 I spent 2 weeks in the south/centre of Kruger and saw over 100 wild dogs, some multiple sightings of the same pack at different places and times... In December 2015 I spent 2 weeks in the same area (both were in December, when dogs don't stay in one spot with a den anymore), not straining myself at all, and saw at least 50 wild dogs... In March 2016 I celebrated my 60th birthday by going from north to south in 10 days... NOTHING in the north, but during the 3 days in the south, I found about 20 dogs, including a mating couple at sunset in the road next to my car...
Enjoy your next wild dog bonanza!
God bless,
Friedrich von Hörsten
``God, I can push the grass apart and lay my finger on your heart'' -- E. St V Millay
I agree with Friedrich,if I wanted to see Wild dogs in Kruger I would do my research and then concentrate on these chosen areas,especially the first 2 hours and last 2 hours of sunlight.. The regular hotspots are, Orpen area Balule crossroads,north of Satara. Around the Northern most Baobab and Sweni road. Anywhere around Skukuza and Berg en Dahl. But as has been said they can,and do,turn up anywhere. Good luck, Afriphile.
