Lincoln Park Zoo

Carnivore Disease Project
While 5,700 square miles of protected land lie at the heart of the Serengeti, areas bordering the park provide homes to millions of people and domestic animals. Fluid boundaries between savanna and village and close contact between domestic animals and wildlife enable the spread of disease.  



Vaccination as a Solution
Wildlife surveys have identified domestic dogs as a major source for rabies and canine distemper outbreaks that have devastated lions and African wild dogs. To safeguard these predators, as well as people and domestic wildlife, Lincoln Park Zoo is leading a project to vaccinate domestic dogs against rabies and distemper.

With support from the zoo and its partners, Tanzanian veterinarians and field staff are inoculating dogs in villages bordering the park. Blood samples are drawn during the process to help scientists study disease transmission among the dogs.

Since it began in 2003, the vaccination project has become woven into the culture of the region. People are happy to participate, bringing their pets long distances to be vaccinated.

Weighing the Impact on Wildlife…
In addition to vaccinating dogs, Carnivore Disease Project researchers are conducting disease surveillance and wildlife transects to monitor the health of park predators.

Scientists periodically collect blood samples from wild lions to track the incidence of rabies and distemper. They also take advantage of the learning opportunities associated with loss, collecting samples from dead predators to identify disease outbreaks—helping to assess the effectiveness of the vaccination program.

In addition to studying disease, scientists also monitor predator abundance. By conducting regular transects (surveying assays that estimate the abundance of wildlife encountered on a predetermined path) in areas in and around Serengeti National Park, researchers can tally the animals they encounter on a predetermined path, enabling estimates of overall population size for lions, hyenas and African wild dogs. These transects provide “snapshots” of predator populations at any given time. They also provide a baseline against which change can be measured over time—key information to track whether disease outbreaks are occurring.

…And on Dogs
Domestic-dog vaccination has been shown to protect people and predators against disease. But scientists are also interested in knowing how vaccination affects the domestic-dog populations. Are there more dogs in vaccinated villages? Are they living longer or having more litters?

By surveying dog owners and tracking individual dogs over time, zoo scientists will determine how vaccination impacts the Serengeti’s dog population. The results will help conservationists understand the impact of vaccination on the Serengeti Ecosystem.

Hearing From Households
In addition to surveying Serengeti residents about their dogs, Carnivore Disease Project researchers collect data on rabies, livestock health and other key issues. These local ambassadors also educate the communities they visit, explaining the importance of the vaccination program. By learning from participants—and keeping them involved in the process—the household surveys help the project continue to advance the health of the Serengeti ecosystem.

Bringing the Lab to the Field 
African wild dogs outside Serengeti National Park are attacking cattle, a natural behavior for these endangered predators, but one that’s certain to spark conflict with local herders. Scientists propose relocating the wild dogs into the park—a win-win situation for conservation and cattle—but they want to ensure that the move doesn’t cause more stress than it resolves.  

Enter Endocrinologist Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., from the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology. By developing a field kit to preserve samples in the absence of electricity or refrigeration, she’s helped rangers and researchers collect data from the most remote reaches of the park. Fecal samples are noninvasively collected and then treated and shipped to Lincoln Park Zoo for analysis. That data that’s produced—stress hormone levels before, during and after relocations—helps scientists to better understand, and better protect, the wildlife of the Serengeti.