| detection of rabies antibody by elisa and rffit in unvaccinated dogs and in the endangered simien jackal (canis simensis) of ethiopia. | varying levels of rabies antibody have been detected both by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) and rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (rffit) in the sera collected from wild and domestic canids in the bale mountains national park (bmnp) of southern ethiopia. rabies antibody was detected in 80% (8 out of 10) of domestic dog samples, 13.3% (2 out of 15) of simien jackal samples and in one common jackal. rabies virus was isolated from one dog in an area where contact with the simien ja ... | 1992 | 1642078 |
| rabies and wildlife: a conservation problem? | understanding the behavioural ecology of wild mammals in rabies epizootics is a prerequisite to scientifically sound management of the disease. the principal vectors of wildlife rabies in a region tend to be abundant representatives of the carnivora. although the population dynamics of these species may be radically affected by rabies, and by attempts to control it, they are generally not threatened with widespread extinction as a result. however, the cases of the blanford's fox, vulpes cana, th ... | 1993 | 7777319 |
| molecular genetics of the most endangered canid: the ethiopian wolf canis simensis. | the world's most endangered canid is the ethiopian wolf canis simensis, which is found in six isolated areas of the ethiopian highlands with a total population of no more than 500 individuals. ethiopian wolf populations are declining due to habitat loss and extermination by humans. moreover, in at least one population, ethiopian wolves are sympatric with domestic dogs, which may hybridize with them, compete for food, and act as disease vectors. using molecular techniques, we address four questio ... | 1994 | 7921357 |
| the use of museum specimens to reconstruct the genetic variability and relationships of extinct populations. | in this review, we discuss the use of dna from museum specimens to address conservation genetic questions. we provide four examples from our previous studies of the northern hairy-nosed wombat, african wild dog, ethiopian wolf and red wolf. these species were genetically surveyed using two molecular approaches: first, analysis of short sequences in the mitochondrial genome using species-specific primers, and second, analysis of hypervariable microsatellite loci. the studies demonstrate that muse ... | 1994 | 8020615 |
| field immobilization of ethiopian wolves (canis simensis). | telazol (tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam hydrochloride combination) and a combination of ketamine hydrochloride and acepromazine were used to immobilize wild ethiopian wolves (canis simensis) in ethiopia from 1988 to 1992. telazol doses of 2.1 to 6.5 mg/kg resulted in a mean (+/- sd) induction time of 2.3 +/- 0.9 min and a mean (+/- sd) immobilization time of 82.2 +/- 28.6 min. induction time did not differ by dose, wolf weight, or age, but was significantly longer for females. immobiliza ... | 1996 | 8627929 |
| rabies and mortality in ethiopian wolves (canis simensis). | between october 1991 and february 1992, 41 of 53 known adult and subadult ethiopian wolves (canis simensis) in five adjacent packs in the bale mountains national park, ethiopia, died or disappeared. brain smears from two carcasses were positive for rabies by the immunofluorescence test, and rabies virus was isolated from the brains by mouse inoculation. based on monoclonal antibody tests on the mouse brains, we identified the virus as a minor variant of the serotype 1 rabies viruses found in dom ... | 1996 | 8627941 |
| rabies virus in the decomposed brain of an ethiopian wolf detected by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. | approximately 75 individuals from a population of 111 ethiopian wolves (canis simensis) died or disappeared from the bale mountains national park (ethiopia) between 1988 and 1992 during two significant population declines. confirmation of rabies virus in two carcasses was based on the fluorescent antibody test (fat) and the mouse inoculation test (mit). in an ethiopian wolf brain previously designated rabies negative by both fat and mit, rabies virus was identified by nested reverse transcriptio ... | 1997 | 9391984 |
| the effect of the last glacial age on speciation and population genetic structure of the endangered ethiopian wolf (canis simensis). | during the last glacial age, afro-alpine habitats were widespread across the highlands of ethiopia. a wolf-like canid ancestor is thought to have colonized this expanding habitat and given rise to a new species that was remarkably well adapted to the high altitude environment: the ethiopian wolf canis simensis. here, we address the timing of genetic divergence and examine population genetic history and structure by investigating the distribution of mitochondrial dna (mtdna) sequence variation. t ... | 2004 | 15245401 |
| low-coverage vaccination strategies for the conservation of endangered species. | the conventional objective of vaccination programmes is to eliminate infection by reducing the reproduction number of an infectious agent to less than one, which generally requires vaccination of the majority of individuals. in populations of endangered wildlife, the intervention required to deliver such coverage can be undesirable and impractical; however, endangered populations are increasingly threatened by outbreaks of infectious disease for which effective vaccines exist. as an alternative, ... | 2006 | 17036003 |
| a new outbreak of rabies in rare ethiopian wolves (canis simensis). | between october 2008 and may 2009, five brain samples from the carcasses of the rare ethiopian wolf (canis simenensis) were submitted for rabies virus testing. rabies virus was detected in all five samples, and this confirmed that a further outbreak of rabies had occurred within the wolf population in the bale mountains of ethiopia. sequence comparison of a partial fragment of the nucleoprotein-coding gene demonstrated that all viruses showed 100% sequence identity, suggesting a single introduct ... | 2010 | 20490607 |
| bovine tuberculosis in ethiopian wildlife. | bovine tuberculosis (btb) is endemic in ethiopian cattle. however, the status of the disease in wildlife populations that often share habitat with livestock is unknown. we screened for btb in wildlife in five regions in ethiopia. blood and tissue samples from 133 mammals of 28 species were collected from 2006 to 2008. we used a rapid serology test (rt) based on lateral flow technology, and performed culture of lymph node specimens inoculated onto lowenstein-jensen and middlebrook 7h11 media. aci ... | 2010 | 20688681 |
| major histocompatibility complex diversity in the endangered ethiopian wolf (canis simensis). | the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) influences immune response to infection and vaccination. in most species, mhc genes are highly polymorphic, but few wild canid populations have been investigated. in ethiopian wolves, we identified four dla (dog leucocyte antigen)-drb1, two dla-dqa1 and five dqb1 alleles. ethiopian wolves, the world's rarest canids with fewer than 500 animals worldwide, are further endangered and threatened by rabies. major rabies outbreaks in the bale mountains of sout ... | 2011 | 21214524 |
| multilocus detection of wolf x dog hybridization in italy, and guidelines for marker selection. | hybridization and introgression can impact the evolution of natural populations. several wild canid species hybridize in nature, sometimes originating new taxa. however, hybridization with free-ranging dogs is threatening the genetic integrity of grey wolf populations (canis lupus), or even the survival of endangered species (e.g., the ethiopian wolf c. simensis). efficient molecular tools to assess hybridization rates are essential in wolf conservation strategies. we evaluated the power of bipa ... | 2014 | 24466077 |
| canine distemper in endangered ethiopian wolves. | the ethiopian wolf (canis simensis) is the world's rarest canid; ≈500 wolves remain. the largest population is found within the bale mountains national park (bmnp) in southeastern ethiopia, where conservation efforts have demonstrated the negative effect of rabies virus on wolf populations. we describe previously unreported infections with canine distemper virus (cdv) among these wolves during 2005-2006 and 2010. death rates ranged from 43% to 68% in affected subpopulations and were higher for s ... | 2015 | 25898177 |
| helminth parasites in the endangered ethiopian wolf, canis simensis. | ethiopian wolves, canis simensis, are an endangered carnivore endemic to the ethiopian highlands. although previous studies have focused on aspects of ethiopian wolf biology, including diet, territoriality, reproduction and infectious diseases such as rabies, little is known of their helminth parasites. in the current study, faecal samples were collected from 94 wild ethiopian wolves in the bale mountains of southern ethiopia, between august 2008 and february 2010, and were screened for the pres ... | 2015 | 25007150 |
| complete genomic sequence of rabies virus from an ethiopian wolf. | ethiopian wolves are the rarest canid in the world, with only 500 found in the ethiopian highlands. rabies poses the most immediate threat to their survival, causing epizootic cycles of mass mortality. the complete genome sequence of a rabies virus (rabv) derived from an ethiopian wolf during the most recent epizootic is reported here. | 2015 | 25814597 |
| community resource uses and ethiopian wolf conservation in mount abune yosef. | people who perceive economic benefits and enjoy unrestricted access to natural resources tend to support ecosystem conservation efforts. our study explores whether this remains true in remnant patches of afroalpine ecosystem in north ethiopia, where communal land provides valuable natural resources for the local communities and also sustain small populations of the endangered ethiopian wolf (canis simensis). questionnaires were designed to assess ecological and socio-economic characteristics of ... | 2015 | 25971736 |
| prey depletion as a threat to the world's large carnivores. | large terrestrial carnivores are an ecologically important, charismatic and highly endangered group of species. here, we assess the importance of prey depletion as a driver of large carnivore endangerment globally using lists of prey species for each large carnivore compiled from the literature. we consider spatial variation in prey endangerment, changes in endangerment over time and the causes of prey depletion, finding considerable evidence that loss of prey base is a major and wide-ranging th ... | 2016 | 27853599 |
| feasibility and efficacy of oral rabies vaccine sag2 in endangered ethiopian wolves. | diseases are a major cause of population declines in endangered populations of several canid species. parenteral vaccination efforts to protect ethiopian wolves (canis simensis) from rabies have targeted the domestic dog reservoir, or the wolves themselves in response to confirmed outbreaks. oral vaccination offers a more cost-efficient, safe and proactive approach to protect ethiopian wolves and other threatened canids from rabies. field trials of the oral vaccine rabigen® sag2dog were undertak ... | 2016 | 27543453 |
| the physiology of cooperative breeding in a rare social canid; sex, suppression and pseudopregnancy in female ethiopian wolves. | ethiopian wolves, canis simensis, differ from other cooperatively breeding canids in that they combine intense sociality with solitary foraging, making them a suitable species in which to study the physiology of cooperative breeding. the reproductive physiology of twenty wild female ethiopian wolves (eleven dominant and nine subordinate) in ethiopia's bale mountains national park was studied non-invasively through the extraction and assaying of estradiol, progesterone and glucocorticoids in coll ... | 2013 | 23994497 |
| sex, stress and social status: patterns in fecal testosterone and glucocorticoid metabolites in male ethiopian wolves. | ethiopian wolves, canis simensis, live in large multi-male family packs, where males are philopatric and do not disperse. within a pack, mating and breeding is largely monopolized by the dominant male and female, although extra-pack copulations are common, and subordinate males may sire pups in neighboring packs. regardless of paternity, all males in a pack help rear the pups. we non-invasively studied patterns in fecal testosterone and glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations using radioimmunoa ... | 2012 | 22841807 |
| territory quality determines social group composition in ethiopian wolves canis simensis. | 1. we contrast the value of four different models to predict variation in territory size as follows: resource density (the ideal free distribution), population density, group size and intruder pressure (relative resource-holding potential). in the framework of the resource dispersion hypothesis, we test the effect of resource abundance and spatial variation in resource distribution on the age/sex composition of social groups. 2. we explore these drivers of territory size and group size/compositi ... | 2012 | 21954918 |
| behavior of geladas and other endemic wildlife during a desert locust outbreak at guassa, ethiopia: ecological and conservation implications. | desert locust (schistocerca gregaria) outbreaks have occurred repeatedly throughout recorded history in the horn of africa region, devastating crops and contributing to famines. in june 2009, a desert locust swarm invaded the guassa plateau, ethiopia, a large and unusually intact afroalpine tall-grass ecosystem, home to important populations of geladas (theropithecus gelada), ethiopian wolves (canis simensis), thick-billed ravens (corvus crassirostris), and other ethiopian or horn of africa ende ... | 2010 | 20333438 |
| complete genomic sequence of canine distemper virus from an ethiopian wolf. | canine distemper virus (cdv) has been implicated in population declines of wildlife, including many threatened species. here we present the full genome of cdv from an ethiopian wolf, canis simensis, the world's rarest and most endangered canid. | 2017 | 28729263 |
| range contractions of the world's large carnivores. | the majority of the world's terrestrial large carnivores have undergone substantial range contractions and many of these species are currently threatened with extinction. however, there has been little effort to fully quantify the extent of large carnivore range contractions, which hinders our ability to understand the roles and relative drivers of such trends. here we present and analyse a newly constructed and comprehensive set of large carnivore range contraction maps. we reveal the extent to ... | 2017 | 28791136 |
| testing a passive tracking index for monitoring the endangered ethiopian wolf. | the endangered ethiopian wolf is considered the rarest canid in africa. the species faces many threats and is particularly vulnerable to diseases such as rabies. a simple, low-technology means to monitor populations would greatly facilitate conservation efforts, through early detection of population changes and behavior, and signaling a need for intervention. we tested a passive tracking index methodology, which has been a valuable tool for indexing canids and other species around the world. the ... | 2009 | 21392287 |
| rabies and distemper outbreaks in smallest ethiopian wolf population. | widespread deaths recently devastated the smallest known population of ethiopian wolves. of 7 carcasses found, all 3 tested were positive for rabies. two wolves were subsequently vaccinated for rabies; 1 of these later died from canine distemper. only 2 of a known population of 13 wolves survived. | 2017 | 29148390 |
| interspecific gene flow shaped the evolution of the genus canis. | the evolutionary history of the wolf-like canids of the genus canis has been heavily debated, especially regarding the number of distinct species and their relationships at the population and species level [1-6]. we assembled a dataset of 48 resequenced genomes spanning all members of the genus canis except the black-backed and side-striped jackals, encompassing the global diversity of seven extant canid lineages. this includes eight new genomes, including the first resequenced ethiopian wolf (c ... | 2018 | 30344120 |
| rabies as a threat to wildlife. | the impact of infectious disease may become progressively more harmful to a species' survival as a wild population approaches an 'extinction vortex'. this risk is especially relevant for pathogens that spread rapidly and result in high mortality rates. rabies, a virus that infects many mammalian species, can be efficiently transmitted through infected saliva, and is fatal without prior vaccination or rapid post-exposure prophylaxis (in humans). the authors conducted an extensive literature revie ... | 2018 | 30747143 |
| competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving african and ethiopian wolves. | carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey depletion. one consequence of these patterns is increased range and niche overlap with other carnivores, and thus an elevated potential for competitive exclusion. here, we document competition between an endangered canid, the ethiopian wolf (ew), and the newly discovered african wolf (aw) in central ethiopia. the diet of the ecological specialist ew was dominated by rodents, whereas the aw consumed a more ... | 2018 | 29892409 |
| foraging ecology of african wolves (canis lupaster) and its implications for the conservation of ethiopian wolves (canis simensis). | african wolves (aws) are sympatric with endangered ethiopian wolves (ews) in parts of their range. scat analyses have suggested a dietary overlap between aws and ews, raising the potential for exploitative competition, and a possible conservation threat to ews. however, in contrast to that of the well-studied ew, the foraging ecology of aws remains poorly characterized. accordingly, we studied the foraging ecology of radio-collared aws (n = 11 individuals) at two localities with varying levels o ... | 2019 | 31598305 |
| capture and immobilization of african wolves ( canis lupaster) in the ethiopian highlands. | : we captured 14 individual african wolves ( canis lupaster) a total of 16 times in the ethiopian highlands in april 2015 and march 2016 by using rubber-lined foothold traps and immobilized them with dexmedetomidine-ketamine. traps were baited with sheep meat and surveyed every 2 h. capture efficiency (number of captures per number of visits) was 0.94, and capture rate (number of captures per number of trap nights) was 0.24. trapped wolves were immobilized with 0.025 mg/kg dexmedetomidine and 8 ... | 2018 | 29048263 |