But their quick response, 28 wolves inoculated in just a week, has curbed what could have turned into a rampant spread of the disease throughout the valley.
With only 500 Ethiopian wolves remaining in the wild, a widespread disease outbreak can be devastating.
The EWCP team inoculated 28 Ethiopian wolves in just a week, curbing what could have turned into a rampant spread of rabies throughout the valley.Įdris and his colleagues exchange smiles, exhausted but happy after six days of responding to the rabies outbreak. This part of the Bale mountains holds around a 100 wolves, the highest density of Ethiopian wolves found in the country, and EWCP aims to protect as many of them as they can from this latest outbreak of rabies. The wolf wastes no time, sprinting into the thick grassland covering the Web Valley. Once he’s done, Edris-a program manager for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program (EWCP)-motions for his team to take off the blanket. He moves quickly, injecting the wolf with a rabies vaccine. Edris steels himself and focuses on the Ethiopian wolf lying still before him, its upper body is covered with a blanket to keep it calm.
The November evening chill cuts through Edris Ebu’s clothing, making him shiver. Around him, the wind rushes through the vast open valley with ferocity.
