Artificial breeding could save dwindling Wild Dog population
African Wild dogs lack genetic diversity, making them vulnerable to disease.
Picture: Pexels via Pixabay
John Perlman speaks to Dr Morne de la Rey, Director of Embryo Plus.
Listen to the interview in the audio below.
The habitats of wild dogs have become so small and fragmented that they cannot support large populations.
Estimates suggest there are only 550 wild dogs left in South Africa, across 14 fragmented populations.
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This has led to inbreeding in wild dog packs stuck in small reserves, which reduces their genetic diversity.
“The packs can’t migrate to each other across the borders we have made.”
- Dr Morne de la Rey, Director of Embryo Plus
Scientists are now planning to freeze the sperm of as many genetically diverse male African wild dogs as possible and using this to artificially inseminate female wild dogs.
This genetic diversity will help them become more resilient to diseases which can devastate a pack.
In 2017, canine distemper virus wiped out 21 out of 22 packs of wild dogs in Laikipia County, Kenya in less than four weeks.
De la Rey says that trying to just move the animals would expose them to new diseases, making it far more dangerous than artificial insemination.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.