African wild dogs are one of the world’s most endangered large predators. Painted in bold patterns of black, white, and gold, these social animals live and hunt together in tight-knit family packs. Unlike most endangered species that are protected in game parks, wild dogs in Kenya roam freely across farms and community lands, sharing space with people and their livestock. The Samburu-Laikipia Wild Dog Project has worked for over 25 years to understand how wild dogs and local communities can thrive together in the same landscape. The project is based at Mpala Research Centre and works across Laikipia, Samburu, and Isiolo counties in northern Kenya.
Wild dogs were wiped out of the region by a rabies outbreak in 1981 and 1982, but a small group naturally returned in 2001. Researchers found that two main threats stood in the way of recovery: disease spread from domestic dogs, and farmers killing wild dogs in retaliation for attacks on their livestock. The good news was that simple changes to herding practices made a real difference. When goats were watched closely by adult herders in open areas, wild dogs were far less likely to attack them, which meant farmers had less reason to retaliate. By putting this knowledge into practice, the wild dog population grew steadily to become the sixth largest in all of Africa.
Then in 2017, disaster struck. A severe drought and political crisis caused thousands of cattle and their herding dogs to move into wildlife areas. The dogs carried a highly contagious illness called canine distemper virus, which swept through the wild dog population. Within months, the entire Laikipia County population of roughly 200 wild dogs collapsed to a single surviving female. To help the population recover, the team launched a major new effort on two fronts. First, they expanded their free rabies vaccination program for domestic dogs, reaching an average of 16,500 dogs every year across a vast area of nearly 5,000 square kilometres. Vaccinations were advertised in advance by teams driving through communities with loudspeakers, and vets visited both village centres and remote households to ensure no dog was missed. Second, the team used community theatre performances to train more than 80,000 people, including children, women, men, and young people, in livestock protection practices. They also used GPS tracking collars on wild dogs to alert herders when packs were nearby, so farmers could move their animals out of the way before any conflict arose.
The results between 2018 and 2024 were remarkable. The number of people bitten by domestic dogs fell by more than half, from around 120 bites per month to 57, meaning far fewer people were at risk of catching rabies. Reports of livestock killed by wild dogs dropped to zero by mid-2024, and not a single wild dog was deliberately killed after 2021. Most importantly, the wild dog population recovered from just two packs to nine packs totalling 80 to 90 individuals, most of them living on community lands alongside people and their herds. This project shows that protecting endangered wildlife and improving the lives of local communities are not competing goals. When communities are genuine partners in conservation rather than bystanders, everyone benefits.
Publications:
Ngatia, D.K., Goheen, J.R., Ferguson, A.W., Karoki, C.W., Lentaam, S., Muloi, D.M., Mutinda, M., Mwangi, M.W., Ngatia, J., and Woodroffe, R. (in review). Downward dog, upward dog: evidence-based carnivore conservation through One Health and co-existence approaches in a human-dominated landscape.
Ferguson, A.W., Muloi, D., Ngatia, D.K., Kiongo, W., Kimuyu, D.M., Webala, P.W., Olum, M.O., Muturi, M., Thumbi, S.M., Woodroffe, R., Murugi, L., Fevre, E., Murray, S., and Martins, D.J. (2020). Volunteer based approach to dog vaccination campaigns to eliminate human rabies: Lessons from Laikipia County, Kenya. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14(7): e0008260.
