Studied since 1964, this population of endangered wild dogs declined and eventually disappeared entirely from the study area in 1991 (Burrows, Hofer, & East, 1994 Ginsberg, Mace, & Albon, 1995). An understanding of potential extinction-causing factors, including the role of well-intended human interventions, are vital to facilitate informed conservation and management actions within protected areas (Rosenblatt et al., 2014 Woodroffe & Ginsberg, 1998).Ī case in point is that of the African wild dog ( Lycaon pictus) population that formerly inhabited the grassland plains in Serengeti National Park (SNP), Tanzania. Factors driving such events may not be immediately apparent, even when populations have been the subject of long-term research and monitoring. However, even within large protected areas carnivore populations can decline precipitously to the point of local extinction (Groom, Funston, & Mandisodza, 2014). Large carnivores have suffered significant global population declines, and protected areas are becoming increasingly important for their continued survival in the face of anthropogenic threats (Bauer et al., 2015 Riggio et al., 2013 Ripple et al., 2014). Handling and radio telemetry are invaluable when studying elusive endangered species, yielding information pertinent to their conservation and management, and had no effect on Serengeti wild dog survival. ![]() ![]() Instead, factors such as heightened levels of interspecific competition are likely to have contributed to the wild dog disappearance and subsequent avoidance of the Serengeti plains. Furthermore, the stable number of wild dog packs in the ecosystem over the past decade, and lack of recolonization of SNP, strongly oppose Burrows' hypothesis. Despite the longer-term stress, 95.5% survived >12 months. Following immobilization, 67 animals were captured, transported, and held in a translocation enclosure. Some argued that viral reactivation would necessitate long-term stress. However, 87.6% of 121 handled wild dogs (2006–2016) survived >12 months post-handling. To be supported, wild dog immobilization interventions should have resulted in high mortality rates. ![]() Insufficient data inhibited hypothesis testing, but since wild dogs persisted alongside SNP and have been studied since 2005, the hypothesis can be tested 25 years after its proposition. The disappearance of an endangered African wild dog population from Serengeti National Park (SNP) led to international debate centered around one question: were researchers to blame? The “Burrows' hypothesis” postulated that stress induced by research-related immobilization and handling reactivated a latent rabies virus, eliminating the population.
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