Introduction
I am very happy today. One of the most pleasurable
emotions I experience is relief. I love it when it happens. And it can be over
the simplest thing: finding my keys, or finding my copy of a paper I wrote.
Today I found some books I thought I had lost, given to me by the naturalist owner
of a private Hyacinth Macaw reserve near to where I live. It’s a working
cattle-ranch called Pouso Alegre, very popular with wildlife photographers. But
the Hyacinth Macaw is for another blog.
These books are written in Portuguese, the
language of Brazil. I love books, and I remember being impressed by these because
they were the best I have ever used for providing a ‘standardised’ approach to Portuguese
common-name usage for Brazilian wildlife. Many people find this hard enough in
the English language!
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Together with my group of six fellow
final-year students I have been helping with the post-operative treatment of
what my peers, Residents and Professors have been calling “Cachorro-do-Mato”,
which, when translated, means “Bush Dog”.
This name took me back 22 years, to when I was a Field Biology and
Habitat Management student at Edge Hill College of Higher Education in
Lancashire, England. Ian, one of my lecturers, had some experience in
Guatemala, and suggested to us undergraduate that we may wish to mount and
expedition to Guatemala to study Bush Dogs (Speothos
venaticus). Ian explained more about these animals and how naturalists at
the time considered them common but elusive. I forget what the objectives of
the proposed expedition were going to be, but it doesn’t matter because it
never came about. Fast-forward 22 years and I was having conversations about Bush
Dogs again with my peers and fellow students again, this time under vastly
different conditions – language, country and nationality. This time we were not
talking about Bush Dog conservation and field biology, but post-operative
treatment. I visualised the Bush Dog from my books. However, walking the ‘Bush
Dog’ during its recovery here at the Veterinary Hospital in Brazil where I study,
I realised the animal in front of me and my group was a Short-Eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis), quite a different
beast and very photogenic!
Post-Operative Treatment
This Short-Eared Dog (let’s call him ‘George’)
has gone past the point of needing clinical treatment and has had his catheter
removed. He is in the Hospital because he had to undergo surgery for a broken
lower jaw. But now he has had his stitched removed, and is adapting well to an
only slightly impaired ability to chew. He eats soft dog food and, on his
walks, he eats the odd hapless mouse provided for him. He is one of the most successful wild casualties
at our veterinary hospital. He loves to play with the students and residents,
and behaves like a dog – rolling over to have his belly tickled and crooning
and wagging his tail like a Labrador!
Conservation Status.
The Short-Eared dog is considered by the IUCN
(International Union for the Conservation of Nature) as Near-Threatened and
Decreasing. This is due to habitat loss, prey-base depletion and disease
(Parvovirus and Distemper). I haven’t looked up specific studies on these last
two issues. Needles to say it would be interesting. It is a carnivore, in the wild feeding upon
whatever prey it can overpower and kill. It has extremely keen eyesight, and
follows my movements when it is my turn to care for it. It is one of those species that is fascinating
because so little is known about it.
Further Work
For Veterinarians, talks and conferences and
collaboration with field biologists would be useful, especially in Portuguese.
For Field Biologists, the use of radio-tracking, telemetry and zoo studies
would be useful I feel. Literature
reviews for all interested parties are recommended, not least to highlight how
little is known on the species.
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