Woodland Park Zoo Press Release

Seattle - A 71⁄2 -year-old, male African wild dog at Woodland Park Zoo was euthanized Saturday for severe illness caused by kidney failure. The wild dog, named Sadiki (sah-DEE-kee), lived in an exhibit built in 2002 as an expansion of the zoo’s award-winning African Savanna. He and three of his male siblings arrived in 2002 from Brookfield Zoo, which marked the first time the endangered species was exhibited at Woodland Park Zoo. The three siblings remain in the African Savanna.

African wild dogs can live up to about 10 to 11 years in the wild and in zoos.

African wild dogs
Photo: Dennis Conner

Signs of declining health early Saturday prompted the zoo’s veterinary team to perform an examination and consult with radiologist Dr. Rob Liddell who performed a diagnostic ultrasound. “The ultrasound confirmed both the severity and extent of illness with little chance of survival, even with aggressive care. His body was failing, so we made the humane decision to euthanize him,” explained Dr. Kelly Helmick, the zoo’s Interim Director of Animal Health. Dr. Liddell, of Radiology Consultants of Washington, has been a long-time volunteer radiologist at Woodland Park Zoo and is a member of Woodland Park Zoo’s Board of Directors.

A final cause for the clinical illness will be determined from results of tissue histology, which takes several weeks to perform.

“ The pack of African wild dogs has provided our visitors a fascinating glimpse into the world of this rare and elusive species of southern Africa,” noted Martin Ramirez, a curator at the zoo. “Sadiki was a beautiful animal, and we are very saddened by his death. This is a significant loss to the species and to the managed population of African wild dogs in North America.”

African wild dogs, native to areas of southern Africa, belong to the canine family along with wolves, foxes, jackals and other similar species, including the domestic dog. They are the wolves of Africa and live and hunt in highly social packs. Known as the caring carnivores, they take care of their old, young and sick. They are fierce cooperative hunters, not scavengers. Once spread throughout much of Africa’s savanna grasslands, wild dogs are one of earth’s most endangered predators. They are now found as small, fragmented populations in Tanzania, extreme northeastern South Africa, across most of Botswana, parts of Zimbabwe, and areas of Namibia, Angola and Zambia. Most of these packs are restricted to national parks and protected areas. African wild dog populations have suffered great declines in the past 20 years due to habitat loss and poaching by farmers concerned for their livestock. Diseases such as distemper and rabies have also taken their toll. Fewer than 5,600 are thought to still exist in the wild.

The zoo opens 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. daily through April 30. For more information, visit www.zoo.org or call 206.548.2500.

Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting international standards for zoos all over the world. Conservation, education and excellent animal care are at the core of the zoo’s mission. The zoo is helping to save animals and their habitats in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring people to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.