Ethiopian Wolf - Status

Status

Ethiopian wolves are decreasing rapidly in population. Fewer than 450 remain today owing to the increased pressure from agriculture, high altitude grazing, hybridization with domestic dogs, direct persecution, and diseases such as rabies - semi-feral dogs released into the wild in Ethiopia pose a huge threat to the Ethiopian Wolf, as diseases such as rabies and CDV (canine distemper virus) have as high as an eighty percent mortality rate, and once one member of a pack has a disease such as these, they spread incredibly quickly, and often render packs useless, and so the remaining members die as well. An example is the Meggity pack, which the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) have been monitoring. In early 2008 the Meggity pack was 23 strong, but later that year a severe outbreak of rabies reduced its number to just two females. Three males from a neighboring pack joined them, but an outbreak of CDV hit just later, leaving just one male and one female, who just survived by themselves and produced five pups, four of which are thought to be alive today. The EWCP (Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Project) actively works on protecting this conservation reliant species. Scientists working with this project have found that this species has some resistance to the effects of small population sizes and some resilience to fragmentation. A 2003 study on the Ethiopian wolf resulted in the conclusion that the key to its survival resides in securing its habitat and isolating its population from the impact of people, livestock and domestic dogs.

The interaction between humans and Ethiopian wolves has become increasingly threatening to their conservation as these negative interactions increase as human density increases. Human interactions include poisoning, persecution in reprisal for livestock losses, and road kills. Mountainous areas are critical for Ethiopian wolves survival to provide a healthy habitat.

Protecting this unique creature entails securing protected status for conservation areas where ecological processes are preserved in an ecosystem, and addressing and counteracting direct threats to survival (human persecution, fragmented populations and coexistence with domestic dogs.) Biologists also recommend the goal of preserving a minimum of 90% of the existing genetic diversity of the species for 100 years, which may require establishing a Nucleus I captive breeding population (preferably in Ethiopia). These aspirations are being pursued by a group called the Ethiopian Wolf Recovery Programme (EWRP).