Surviving African wild dogs on exhibit at Good Zoo
The two African wild dog pups born at the Good Zoo in September greet their parents. The entire wild dog family is on exhibit at the zoo.
Two African wild dog pups that were born at the Good Zoo in September were nursed by a domestic dog and hand-raised by zoo staff. Penny Miller, zoo director, said this is the first time nursing wild dog pups have been hand-reared by zoo staff, yet kept with the parents during the day.
WHEELING, W.Va. – Highly endangered African wild dog pups born at the Good Zoo at Oglebay are on exhibit.
Destiny gave birth Sept. 30, 2012, to seven pups. It is the first litter she or her mate, Selous, has produced.
“All the pups were full term, but below normal birth weight, and were born with infections that affected their lungs and other organs,” said Mindi White, Good Zoo manager. “One pup was stillborn due to undeveloped lungs. The remaining pups were pulled for hand-rearing, but four pups succumbed to the infection.”
White said the remaining two pups were too weak to nurse from Destiny, so zoo staff located a lactating domestic dog, Ellie, from the Hancock County Animal Shelter and nursed the pups on Ellie for several days until she stopped producing milk. Keepers took the pups back to the parents every day and let them see, hear and smell the pups through the fence to let them know they were alive.
When the pups were stronger and healthier and the parents were still showing strong parental behaviors, the pups were put back with the parents.
The pups still did not nurse adequately from Destiny, so animal-care staff took the pups home every night for late night and 2 a.m. feedings. The pups were put back with the wild dog parents during the day.
“This is the first time nursing wild dog pups have been hand-reared by zoo staff, yet kept with the parents during the day,” said Penny Miller, zoo director.
If the pups had been only hand-raised, they imprint on people and do not learn correct wild-dog behaviors.
“This would have made it impossible to integrate them back into the African wild dog conservation program, which is the whole point of our breeding efforts,” Miller added. “These pups were born very compromised. It is a miracle two survived, and it is a testimony to the incredible problem-solving and tender loving care they received from our keepers and managers.”
The domestic dog that helped rear the pups was adopted by a Good Zoo keeper.
African wild dogs are Africa’s second most endangered carnivores. Once found in 39 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, wild dogs are no longer found in 25 countries. Habitat destruction, rabies and canine distemper spread by local village dogs and other pressures threaten their survival.
Only the dominant female dog in the pack produces pups. Litters can be as large as 20 pups. Other females assist the mother in rearing the pups and catching wild game. It takes a large healthy pack of wild dogs to hunt enough game to feed large litters; many wild packs are now too small to rear large litters.
Pup mortality in the wild is 90 percent. There are 125 African wild dogs exhibited in 37 U.S. zoos. About 3,500 to 5,000 remain in the wild.