Many different and fascinating animals live in Africa, making it one of the best places in the world when it comes to studying diverse species and ecosystems. Unfortunately, it is also a place where human impact is causing many of these animals to become endangered.
One species, the Ethiopian wolf, is considered the most endangered carnivore in the world right now, and that is in large part due to human activity in the areas where they live.
A recent study that was published in Communications Biology looked at this animal and found that only around 454 known adult wolves are currently alive, and they are spread out between 99 packs that live in an area a little over 1000 square miles in size.
The area in Ethiopia where they are primarily found is about 3000 meters (9843 feet) above sea level.
In the study, the authors say:
“The most immediate threat is posed by viral diseases transmitted by domestic dogs, with large packs and the social nature of wolves increasing the risk of epizootics resulting in large demographic fluctuations. In the Bale Mountains, the largest population, outbreaks of rabies and canine distemper virus (CDV) have reduced local populations by up to 75 percent and their recovery has been delayed when disease extirpated whole breeding units or packs.”
The Ethiopian wolf is a very social species, though they do hunt alone in most cases. Their diet is primarily made up of giant mole rats.
While it is unfortunate when any animal becomes endangered due to human activity, it is in some ways worse to think about the fact that the species thrived for a long time before humans caused the problems. In this case, the study looked at fossil records that show that this wolf first appeared sometime between 1.4 and 1.6 million years ago.
It is heartbreaking that such an enduring animal may go extinct because of us.
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