Hi folks,
As you’ll have seen from the last post, all but two pups of the Mavericks pack recently died of rabies. We had been feeding the pack for a few days after all the adults except the alpha female had died, but then the alpha female started to show the same signs as the other adults and we knew the time had come to try and capture and save the last two pups.
The last two pups
With the help of wildlife filmmaker Kim Wolhuter (currently making a film on wild dogs in neighboring Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve), we managed to successfully dig the two pups out of their den and get them safely into a transport crate. This in itself was quite a mission… the den was in a large anthill with a lot of sand to be moved and several tunnels inside, any of which the pups could be down.
Digging out the den
Rosemary looking down one of the den holes
Five hours of hard digging later we eventually found them and managed to get them into a mesh trap we had made in order to avoid handling them due to the possibility of rabies.
Getting the pups into their transport crate!
After the rabies diagnosis had come through, we had contacted the Painted Dog Conservation Project up in Hwange who have a clinic and rehabilitation facility specifically to cater for all situations pertinent to Painted dog conservation in Zimbabwe. They also have the option of quarantining the pups until we can be sure they are not infectious with the rabies virus, and there was no doubt this would be the best place for the pups. PDC agreed to take them and so once they were safely loaded in their transport crate, we set off for the 8 hour drive up to Hwange.
We arrived at the Painted Dog Conservation HQ just before midnight, but despite the lateness of the hour, we were greeted with extreme professionalism and efficiency, and the pups were soon offloaded into their new temporary home. We went back to check on them early the following morning and found them both looking healthy, and very excited by the presence of other adult dogs nearby, and especially one female who seemed to immediately assume the role of foster mum – albeit through a double layer of wire mesh to avoid transmission of infection!
So we have left them in the care of PDC, and are keeping fingers and toes crossed that they have not been infected with rabies and will pull through. If they do, they will be cared for at PDC until they are old enough to be released, at which stage they will be teamed up with some other dogs ready for release. They will then be put through a pre-release program where they learn to bond as a pack and hunt properly, after which they will be released again in to the wild.
I will keep you informed of their progress. In the meantime, if anyone would like to contribute to the cost of their care, please donate through this site and write a comment saying what the donation is for and I will ensure PDC get the funds. I will post a list of specific urgent needs shortly.
Rosemary
7 Comments
What can I do to help?? money veterinary equipment supplies…?..
Very sad about the loss of all the other dogs but glad you were able to save these 2 at least. Looking forward to updates on their progress.
Rosemary, these news are devastating and I feel terribly sad for the wild dogs. Through this blog I have grown really fond of these animals and wish I could do more to help your project.
Are you able to monitor the other packs? So getting too close to humans and their domestic animals ended up being a very bad thing for the Maverick pack..
Wishing you all strength in your work.
Hi,
Thanks for your offer to help. Yes, all financial support is hugely appreciated. Right now we are desperate for funds for our rabies (and canine distemper and parvo virus) vaccination campaign planned for Sept/Oct and also for funds to cover the costs of the veterinary lab tests and vet fees. Also we need to pay for the pups food and care at PDC until they are old enough to be released. So any support is much appreciated, and you can always leave a comment if you want your donation to go to anything specific.
Any sort of veterinary equipment is always useful (are you a vet?) but things like the drugs we have to get here from a licensed dealer, for legal reasons. But if you are a vet or have access to things like scalpel blades, pipettes, gloves, needles, syringes, sample bottles, 2ml tubes etc – all of that is very useful too. And not always easy to get here.
If you want to discuss further, do email me (rosemary@africanwildlifeconservationfund.org)
Thanks very much,
Rosemary
Hi Rebecca and Pirjo,
So far both pups are doing well and eating almost their own body weight in meat every day! It’s their growing phase at the moment…! I will certainly keep you all updated on their progress. We haven’t yet posted a blog about this, but two days ago we found another den site (of another small, un-collared pack) in the south of the conservancy, which is wonderful news, and I sincerely hope they manage to keep clear of both rabies and lions – both of which are quite a serious threat at the moment. But at least that is some good news for the area.
Pirjo, yes, we are monitoring the other packs as well – Becky will be doing some posts on them soon. Both the Maera pack and Bedford pack have just about finished denning and are on the move with their pups. The Star Pack (on top of the hill!) are still doing well and the other packs are seen from time to time too – more should start denning any time now.
Thanks very much for your support and donations,
Rosemary
Donation made for rabies vaccination campaign and/or care of the rescued pups
Hi Sherri,
Your donation was safely received – thank you VERY much. We will put it towards the vaccination campaign which is currently our most effective tool to protect the rest of the dogs suffering the same fate as the Mavericks pack.
Rosemary