Why is South America’s Wild Dog a Relatively Unknown Endangered Species?
I’ve worked in the conservation profession for a long time, and when I was in college, I took three courses on animal behavior, in addition to many other environmentally-themed courses. In those classes we read countless research articles and also talked about numerous fascinating and endangered species around the globe.
Recently in a cafe I saw a copy of a well-known edition of National Geographic. This issue had featured Africa’s wild dogs on the cover. I pointed it out to my wife, who promptly told me that Peru had wild dogs too, and that they were endangered. Really, I asked? Why hadn’t I ever heard of the Peruvian wild dog before?
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Peru’s wild dog is known in English as the Bush Dog, and has a large range sprawling from the southern reaches of Central America to the northern parts of South America. While it lives in quite a lot of countries, it is challenging to find and photograph in the wild. It’s a medium sized dog, tends to live in forests and in savannas, and is generally thought to be a carnivore and eat large rodents like the paca. A recent study, however, did show that Bush Dogs occasionally eat some fruit.
They can also swim, and webbed feet help them to accomplish this type of travel. Probably the coolest thing known about them is that they tend to live in large groups of perhaps up to 12 individuals, and sometimes also hunt together. The IUCN lists them as a vulnerable species, as their populations seem small and because more and more of their habitat is being destroyed or occupied by humans.
So here’s what I don’t understand. Dogs are extremely popular pets, the Bush Dog is a cuddly animal that primarily eats rodents (not adored by the general public), and also lives in communal groups? Why don’t more people know about this interesting endangered species? It seems charismatic and cute enough.
Maybe because the Bush Dog is so hard to find, nature writers have been discouraged from attempting to write about it. The wild dogs of Africa, being out in the open, are much easier to see and photograph. Scientists also have a hard time studying Bush Dogs, and most observations of their behavior and life cycle has occurred in zoos. On the bright side, one recent study did investigate a technique for attracting Bush Dogs in the wild.
It’s also possible that there are only so many endangered species that can bask in the spotlight. I sincerely hope that’s not the case. Move over polar bear, with your recently acquired bona fides.
In the end, even for us conservation enthusiasts and professionals, it’s just simply impossible to know about everything that goes on in our field. I’m still surprised though that I had not heard of the Bush Dog before. But maybe I should not be surprised at my own ignorance, because during my research I also discovered that there is an Asian Wild Dog!
Life is always full of wonderful surprises, don’t you think? Readers, know of any other charismatic endangered or threatened species that aren’t getting their due?
Related on the Green Options Network:
How Hidden Cameras Aid Conservation Efforts for Jaguars and Other Rare Animals by Levi Novey
Green Family Values: Games That Teach About Endangered Animals by Jennifer Lance
Should all Arctic Species Be Listed as Endangered? by Joshua S. Hill
Where Issues Intertwine: Why Animals Matter by Megan Prusynski
Photo Credit: Allspice1 on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
