Attempted predation on blue sheep Pseudois nayaur (Hodgson) by dholes Cuon
alpinus (Pallas) in China
Richard B. Harris, University of Montana, Missoula, MT USA 59801
Key words: blue sheep, China, Cuon alpinus, dhole, predation, Pseudois
nayaur

The principal predator of blue sheep (Psuedois nayaur) throughout its range
on the Tibetan plateau is generally considered to be the snow leopard (Uncia
uncia) (Oli et al. 1993, Schaller 1998). Young lambs may also be taken by
eagles (Aquila spp.) or other raptors, and wolves (Canis lupus) may
important predators in some areas (Schaller 1998). Although the geographic
range of the dhole (Cuon alpinus) is universally represented as including
all the high-elevation areas of western China (Cohen 1977, Fox 1984,
Ginsberg and MacDonald 1990, Sheldon 1992, Zheng 1994), few documented
reports on its distribution or ecology in China have been published. Dholes
are known to prey on numerous ungulates, but there exist only vague
references to them attacking members of the sub-family Caprinae (e.g.,
Heptner et al. 1998). Here, I report an instance of attempted predation on a
group of blue sheep by a pack of dholes in the Qilian Shan, Gansu, China.

For more details see Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102:
(2006) (in press), or contact rharris@montana.com for a .pdf

Claudio

Researchers have produced the strongest evidence yet to suggest that a
targeted reactive vaccination programme, rather than blanket
vaccination, can control infectious diseases like rabies in threatened
wild canid populations (wild dogs, wolves and foxes. (Low-coverage
vaccination strategies for the conservation of endangered species',
D.T.Haydon et al Nature 443, 692-695 -12 October 2006)

The research team from Oxford University, Edinburgh University and
Glasgow University demonstrated that by vaccinating just thirty per cent
of the Ethiopian wolf population, the spread of rabies during an
outbreak can be reduced.. Their study, published in the journal Nature,
suggests that by vaccinating wolf packs living in the connecting
mountain valleys close to the outbreak, they can contain disease
outbreaks with unexpectedly low overall levels of vaccine coverage.

For nearly twenty years Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit (WildCRU) have been studying these animals and in 1995
established the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) to address
the most urgent threats to wolf survival. The population of just 500 can
only be found in remote mountain enclaves in the Ethiopian Highlands.
There are six subpopulations of between 10 and 50, with the largest
group of 350 living in the Bale Mountains in the southeast. Canid
diseases, such as rabies and distemper, are the major killers with
domestic dogs being the main disease-carriers. The EWCP continues to
vaccinate domestic dogs in wolf habitat in an attempt to protect the
wolves.

After rabies outbreaks in the Bale Mountains in the early 1990s, which
wiped out two thirds of the Ethiopian wolf population in this area, an
emergency vaccination programme was introduced in 2003 in response to
yet another outbreak that year.
The study, an analysis and modelling of data collected by the EWCP,
suggests that a preventative strategy to capture and vaccinate the whole
population is impractical as the wolves live in remote, inaccessible
mountain enclaves. The alternative strategy adopted by the EWCP is an
effective reactive response to outbreaks, whereby Ethiopian wolves
living in the mountain valleys close to infected packs are targeted. The
researchers have shown through modelling that even if outbreaks became
more frequent, fewer wolves would need to be vaccinated under this
targeted scenario, than under a wholesale vaccination programme, in
order to virtually eliminate the extinction threat posed by such
outbreaks.

The researchers suggest that routine monitoring of the population
enables the early detection of disease and a rapid response to deal with
it. In the event of a single suspected case, they suggest that
monitoring should be intensified and once two rabid carcass are found,
vaccination teams should be dispatched to target subpopulations living
in connecting valleys. Additional measures, such as vaccinating between
10 and 40 per cent of wolves in affected packs, if targeting the
particularly large and highly connected packs, can further reduce
overall mortality due to these outbreaks.

Dr Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, from Oxford's WildCRU, said: 'Ethiopian
wolves are on of the rarest carnivores in the world, restricted to a few
montane enclaves in the Ethiopian Highlands. Canid diseases, such as
rabies and distemper, transmitted from domestic dogs pose the most
immediate threat to their persistence, and targeted reactive vaccination
intervention presents a useful tool to protect the remaining small wolf
populations from extinction.'

Lead author Dr Dan Haydon, from the University of Glasgow, said:
'Theoreticians have devoted a lot of effort to working out how to
vaccinate populations in ways that prevent epidemics getting started,
but this requires coverage that is impractical in wild populations.

We've looked at vaccination studies that don't prevent all outbreaks,
but do reduce the chances of really big outbreaks - ones that could push
an endangered population over the extinction threshold. These strategies
turn out to be effective and a lot more practical.'

Dr Karen Laurenson, the University of Edinburgh, who has led the disease
work Ethiopian wolves said: 'We have shown that the vaccination of
Ethiopian wolves, when appropriately and strategically used, is a safe,
direct and effective method of reducing extinction threats. With the
advent of new generations of oral vaccines, such methods are becoming
ever more feasible and cost-effective.'

Professor David Macdonald, Director of the WildCRU, said 'The WildCRU's
aim is to put innovative science to practical use. These discoveries
would have been impossible without long-term field-studies, and they
show how cutting-edge science can have down-to-earth practical
significance both for the protection of a very rare, and spectacular,
wild species, and also for human well-being.'

POSTGRADUATE/POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Wellcome Trust-funded
Ecology & Epidemiology Group
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Warwick

A field-based project to investigate the ecology and epidemiology of an
important global vector-borne human and canine protozoal pathogen
causing leishmaniasis. Following the recent success of a novel
intervention method to reduce childhood and canine infection rates, this
up and running project is designed to test specific hypotheses to
characterise the epidemiological settings in which the intervention
could be appropriately implemented. The primary tasks in this study
include understanding the interactions between hosts (dogs, jackals, and
foxes) and sandfly vectors, to evaluate the behaviour and vectorial
capacity of sandfly species, and quantify infection and transmission
dynamics. Fieldwork will be conducted during the short (6 month)
transmission season over 2 years in rural northern Iran in collaboration
with the Pasteur Institute (Tehran) and University of Medical Sciences
(Tabriz).

The successful candidate will have a post graduate qualification in
field ecology, extensive experience in trapping, handling and sampling
wildlife, a track record in project management, and experience in a
developing country. Entomological training will be provided.

The initial contract is for 6 months starting in April/May 2006 (i.e.
for the duration of the first transmission season), with likely
extension.

For further information and informal discussion, please contact Dr. Orin
Courtenay orin.courtenay@warwick.ac.uk Tel. 02476 524550