International Journal of
Biodiversity and Conservation

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-243X
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJBC
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 678

Full Length Research Paper

Strychnine poisoning in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Loliondo game controlled area, Tanzania

  Masenga, E. H.1*, Lyamuya, R. D.1, Nyaki, A.2, Kuya, S.2, Jaco, A.3, Kohi, E.1, Mjingo, E. E.1, Fyumagwa, R. D.1 and Røskaft, E.4
1Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, P.O. Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania. 2Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, P.O. Box 1, Ngorongoro Crater. 3Vodacom Tanzania Ltd, P.O. Box 2369 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 4Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Realfagbygget, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 11 June 2013
  •  Published: 30 June 2013

Abstract

 

The retaliatory persecution of large carnivores is a worldwide conservation concern. We report a case of malicious strychnine poisoning of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA), Tanzania. Eight out of ten individuals (80%) in one of our study packs were poisoned in retaliation for a livestock attack. Samples were collected from the internal organs for toxicological analysis. The results revealed that strychnine poison was the sole cause of the wild dogs’ deaths. We discuss the conservation implications and suggest that more effort is required to create balanced mitigation strategies for sustainable conservation of the species.

 

Key words: Lycaon pictus, poisoning, livestock predation, Loliondo game controlled area.

Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

Back to Vol. 5 No. 6
Back to articles
  • Articles on Google by:
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS
SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT
CONFERENCES