Endangered wolves

Today hunting may have been banned, but human activities have so severely damaged natural habitats that chances of recovery seem remote. The UAE desert itself has experienced local extinctions of species that once roamed wild and free across its arid wilderness. Among these is the Arabian wolf, which hasn't been seen in the wild in this country since the 1980's.

At one time, this smallest and, possibly, the least known of wolf subspecies, had a range throughout the Arabian peninsula. Now it can only be found in selected pockets of Oman, Yemen, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. To see one in the UAE, one has to visit Sharjah's Wildlife Centre.

Farmers and shepherds have always resented the presence of wolves. The reason: they attack livestock such as goats. Revenge killings by farmers are practiced even today and farmers shoot, poison, trap and kill wolves whenever possible. Desert conditions force wild and domestic animals to live near limited water resources (wadis, gravel plains and mountain regions), which provide the wolves equal opportunities to feed on livestock as well as wild hares, rodents and ungulates.

There is yet another threat to this extremely endangered wolf - interbreeding with feral dogs, which poses a very serious threat to the survival of the species. The pure Arabian wolf's eyes are yellow with black pupils. Many are found with brown eyes, a certain sign that they are no longer of pure blood.

Globally, wolves have had one of the largest ranges of all mammals, next to humans. However, beside this fact they are extinct or endangered in most of their range, whether grasslands, tundra, coniferous and deciduous forests, swamps and deserts.

Across the Red Sea in Ethiopia, the critically endangered Ethiopian wolf (also known as the simian jackal) is afflicted by rabies. WWF is warning that a rabies epidemic in part of southeastern Ethiopia is threatening the survival of this most endangered member of the dog family in the world.

At least 30 Ethiopian wolves have died from rabies since the disease broke out in the Bale Mountains National Park at the end of September. The park is home to some 300 of the wolves, more than half of the total population in the country.

Since the first death was reported at the end of September, conservationists have been isolating affected wolves and have started a vaccination programme to try to contain the epidemic.

In the last rabies epidemic in 1991 and 1992, more than two-thirds of park's wolves were wiped out. There are believed to be less than 500 Ethiopian wolves left in the country.

Conservationists fear that unless more funds are forthcoming to vaccinate the wolves, the population will dwindle.

The wolves, with their distinctive red coat, are already under threat from human-wildlife conflict. As their natural habitats are eroded by human settlements, they are often killed by local people in the park who perceive them as a threat to themselves and their livestock.

'If we are to save the Ethiopian wolf from extinction, we must find a permanent solution to the recent influx of illegal settlers into the national park,' said Dr Ermias Bekele, Coordinator of WWF's Bale Mountains project. 'We also have to ensure that the settlers' dogs don't breed with the wolves, eroding their unique genetic make-up even further. These dogs also have to be vaccinated and sterilized to stop the spread of rabies.'

WWF is appealing for funds to expand the vaccination and sterilization programme in the Bale Mountains, as well as money to help in the relocation of the recent wave of migrants into the park.

WWF is working with the Ethiopian government on implementing a regional resettlement plan. It is also involved in projects to heighten awareness among local communities of the value of the rare Ethiopian wolf and its critical habitats