Rabies outbreak in wild dogs raises concern for Kruger National Park

The close proximity of multiple rabies deaths in a local wild dog pack is causing officials to worry about the potential for increased transmission to wildlife that roam South Africa’s Kruger National Park, one of the largest wild game reserves in Africa. Multiple dogs from a resident pack denning in the Blue Canyon Conservancy, in a region just outside the greater Kruger area, died after contracting rabies in the middle of August of this year. 

Grant Beverley, a wild dog researcher from the Endangered Environmental Trust, discovered the rabies cases after observing five emaciated wild dog puppies walking unsteadily on a road near their den, and became concerned about the possibility of a rabies outbreak. Weakness in an infected animal’s hind legs is a common symptom of rabid animals because the virus attacks the central nervous system. A few days later, Beverley also found a deceased female, puppies, and a male, who were all confirmed to have died from rabies after laboratory testing. The same area has seen deaths of jackals and impala from rabies too.

Kruger Park authorities are not planning to initiate vaccinations of wild dogs living within South Africa’s premier wild game reserve, which saw over 1.38 million visitors in 2011. However, the Head of Veterinary Wildlife Services at Kruger, Dr. Marcus Hofmeyr, did express that the potential for the spread of the disease into the park was “worrying.” No cases of rabies have ever been recorded in Kruger National Park, but park officials plan to continue their surveillance efforts, noting that any stray dog or jackal displaying strange behavior would be the most likely source of rabies and should be reported to the park authorities.

No additional sightings of wild dogs have been reported near the Blue Canyon den, and it is expected that the den has died out. Veterinary authorities continue to advocate for vaccination of all domestic dogs throughout South Africa to help ensure protection for other wild animals. “Rabies is not something that only occurs in rural villages or in feral animals. What we need is a ring of protection around our wildlife, a community effort to ensure vaccination, an effort that involves the awareness of everyone.  If we don’t do something to eradicate rabies from our domestic stock, we can expect to see a repeat of this incident in the future,” remarked Beverley.

Submitted by Laura Baker, GARC newsletter contributor, from articles in The Citizen, “Concern over wild dog rabies outbreak” and Lowvelder, “Rabies outbreak ravages a pack of wild dogs.”