Hi folks,
This is a sad and slightly gory post, so those of you with sensitive stomachs dont look too closely at the photos.
A few days ago I got a radio call from Rueben to say he had found one of our collared wild dogs in a very bad way. The message was that he was by himself and had been badly bitten. I went off to meet Rueben and, together with a colleague of mine, we went to have a look at the dog. The story from the tracks suggested that he might have been attacked by hyenas, but we can’t be certain of that.
In any case, the wounds looked pretty nasty and although the animal was able to walk, he was clearly in poor condition and struggling. The tracks of the rest of the pack were a long way off, and from his condition it looked like he had been alone for a day or two without being fed, so we did not think that the other dogs would be coming back. Even if they had, his injuries looked too bad to risk leaving.
Luckily, because of the collar, we were able to pick up on this, and now we just had to decide what to do.
I made the decision to dart him and see if we could do anything for him. I ended up doing this from the motorbike, because, despite his poor condition, he was still able to stay out of darting range from the vehicle. A cursory examination of his condition and the injuries once he was anesthetized indicated that we could not do much in the field, but that perhaps a vet could save him. So, together with a colleague, we loaded him into a straw-filled cage and set off for the 2.5 hour journey to the nearest vet.
Here I am preparing the cage for his safe transportation.
Very sadly, after a very thorough examination, the vet made the decision to put him down. I guess it was the right decision though, and at least he was put out of his misery rather than suffering a slow, painful, loney and frightening death by himself in the bush.
The rest of the pack was now un-collared, and one adult down, but luckily a few days later I managed to re-collar the pack so we can keep track of them again, and keep an eye out for any further injuries in future. Luckily, in this case, the rest of the pack was fine and none of the other dogs showed any sign of a fight or injury.
Rosemary
8 Comments
Sad news, but it helps to know that he isn’t alone & suffering. Good to hear that the rest of the pack is doing fine.
What kind of damage a hyena bite can cause? Do hyenas have bacteria in their mouths, which makes their bites even more dangerous? For example if a domestic cat bites a wild animal it can cause a serious blood poisoning from which the animal often dies.
I’m sorry Rosemary – something like this is not part of the job you enjoy. Interesting question that Pirjo asked. Also, getting even scratched by a domestic cat can lead to severe infection to a human if left untreated.
I am happy you were all there to be with him in his last moments of life
Hi Pirjo and Dana,
Thanks for following!! Hyena can cause some serious damage not only through infection but because of the power of their jaws. They have an extremely strong bite force,about 800 kgf/sq cm (40% stronger than a leopard). They also can carry a number of diseases and bacteria and as such a bite does have the potential to cause infections. Amazingly though, these animals are extremely resilient and often recover from relatively minor bites with no problem at all.
I agree, what matters is that he was found and taken into good hands… you gave him a chance. Rosemary, i really appreciate the work you are doing. You are the voice for those who cant be heard..
I know wild dog are an endangered species, but couldn’t we let nature take care of itself? Isn’t there something like natural regulation, even between carnivores? Hyenas and wild dogs occupy quite the same ecological niche, isn’t it “normal” that such things happen?
Hi Pastaga,
You are right, for sure. Nature should be allowed to take it’s course and I often struggle between the need to do something and the knowledge that nature must be allowed to happen as nature intended. In this case, we intervened for two reasons: one was that the dog was collared and so we had already ‘interfered’ if you like. Secondly, in that particular pack there were only 4 adult dogs, and the loss of one could have serious consequences for the pack. Given their very endangered status and the fact that the loss of an adult from such a small pack could potentially mean an unsuccessful breeding season, I did make the call to try and save it. In addition, it wasn’t until we actually had it immobilized that we could properly assess the most likely cause of the injury. There was a possibility it could have been caused by a snare or another man-made cause.
But you do raise a good point and nature must certainly be interfered with as little as possible, whilst making allowances for conservation decisions, especially in the case of endangered species.
Thanks for your comment,
Rosemary
Very good post, thanks!