Zimbabwe Wild Dogs

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 18 2008 | By: zimbabwewilddogs

Hi guys,

Paula raised a very good point in her comment to the last post.  Effectively - why do we need collars and how do they help conservation?  This is a very good question, because all too often people will put collars on because it seems like a good thing to do, or just because they want some data for a paper they are writing.  Now the latter isn’t necessarily a bad thing - sound conservation depends heavily on good background research which can often be written into papers.  The problem is if the work stops there - the researcher has got their paper out and then leaves the animal collared with no further follow up.  Unfortunately that happens all too often and it makes me mad too Paula!

I would like to reassure you however that the Zimbabwe wild dog project is 100% a conservation project (I have finished my PhD and so am not even looking to collect data for a thesis at the same time!).  All aspects of project work towards the conservation of this incredibly endangered species, in a very hands on way.

So why do we need collars?  Well - firstly because any realistic conservation measures need a certain amount of basic background information such as numbers of individuals, distribution of packs, litter sizes, pups survival and causes of adult mortality etc.  All such information requires observations of the dogs and quite simply, wild dogs are virtually impossible to find without collars!  They can have home ranges of up to 1500km2, which is a HUGE area of wilderness in which to look for the dogs, especially given the vast distances they can move on a daily basis.  Although the home ranges in the Save Valley Conservancy are quite a bit smaller (between 400-1000km2) the area is still far too big to be able to locate the dogs regularly without collars.

As well as collecting the data outlined above, frequent observations of all packs are important to pick up any early signs of disease (e.g. rabies/canine distemper) so that measures can be taken to prevent, control or cure the disease.  Collars also help to locate carcasses of dogs so we can look into causes of death.  The GPS collars provide extra information on habitat useage, daily movement patterns, hunting times and patterns etc, all of which helps us understand the dogs ecological requirements so that we can better conserve them.

All collared dogs in this project are followed up regularly.  We do not collar dogs unless we have the time, equipment and personnel to locate and observe them frequently.   And although it doesnt make it any better when you see collared animals, there have been studies done which show there is no long term adverse effect on the animal from being collared.  In fact in our study, one of the collared males became the alpha male of the pack after being collared, which at the very least shows that his fitness, strength and ‘attractiveness’ where not negatively affected by the collar in the slightest.

I hope that answers your concerns Paula.  It is an extremely important point you raised and one I feel very strongly about too.  I think at the end of the day, collars can be an extremely valuable conservation tool if used properly, but should by no means be deployed without very good reasons.

Rosemary

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