Resident's Awareness of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Northern Tanzania

African wild dogs are highly endangered and have disappeared from most areas in Africa. While there is evidence for wild dog occurrence within protected areas in TME, knowledge on their presence and interactions with adjacent... [ view full abstract ]

African wild dogs are highly endangered and have disappeared from most areas in Africa. While there is evidence for wild dog occurrence within protected areas in TME, knowledge on their presence and interactions with adjacent communities is scanty. We enlisted the community views on wild dog occurrence, awareness, and attitudes in twelve villages in the TME of northern Tanzania. Most residents knew the Maa (Osiyani) and Swahili (Mbwa mwitu) for wild dogs, and had seen them within their village, they were however indifferent towards them. They did not though feel that wild dog presence was due to a healthy environment. Most residents felt that wild dogs are moderate threat to livestock compared to the other common predator species in the area. This study over-emphasizes the role of baseline awareness and attitudes surveys as baseline for initiating species-specific conservation actions.