Roads are an ever-present threat to painted wolves
West Africa’s last remaining painted wolf population is estimated at no more than 40 individuals. In a landscape of 9,000KM2, this makes them one of the most difficult to see, anywhere in Africa.
Projet Lycaon, managed by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), has been working in Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal alongside Direction des Parcs Nationaux, to save these painted wolves since 2022. This work has been supported by a significant grant by the Painted Dog Fund.
Excitingly, in June this year, the monitoring team saw a pack twice. These are the first sightings of the elusive painted wolves in Niokola-Koba since early 2024.
The pack was spotted chasing a bushbuck across the busy highway that bisects the Park, avoiding the heavy traffic from large trucks while making a successful kill just 10m from the road.
The pack moved away from their kill due to the trucks, giving the monitoring team a chance to place a camera trap by the kill. The pack returned to feed a short while later, and this video highlights the road’s ever-present dangers.
This highway, linking Dakar to east Senegal is a key freight route, with trucks passing frequently at speed. The painted wolves are at constant risk.
Roadkills are a significant threat to painted wolves in many areas across Africa and are responsible for a significant number of deaths each year.
Since this sighting, ZSL has re-initiated talks with the Senegalese park authorities to develop and implement a road mitigation strategy to protect the painted wolves in the park.
This camera trap video delivers irrefutable evidence of the real and present danger.
Images and video courtesy of Projet Lycaon and Direction des Parcs Nationaux.
