Chances with wolves

In an office deep inside Oxford University's zoology department sits the saviour of the world's rarest dog.

Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, 37, grew up in Argentina watching Daktari and dreaming of Africa.

Now, with the benefit of an Oxford education, he heads a 12-strong team of conservationists fighting to save the Ethiopian wolf.

The Ethiopian wolf is among the most endangered of endangered species. Just 400 cling to a fragile existence high in Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. They owe their survival almost entirely to Claudio and his small band of helpers.

"In a way you could call it the panda of Africa, though there are fewer left than the panda," says Claudio, surrounded by African images in his box-shaped office.

"The wolf has become my life's work. I have tried to get away from it once or twice but I have failed." With his curly, jet-black hair and faded jeans, Claudio looks more like one of his country's footballers than a world-renowned conservationist.

But his enthusiasm for his subject is infectious. Project Wolf, the programme he launched to save the Ethiopian Wolf from extinction, has won the prestigious £15,000 Whitely Award from the Royal Geographical Society.

After arriving in Ethiopia as a volunteer conservationist in the mid-1980s, Claudio spent more than 5,000 hours braving temper- atures from 25C at noon to -15C at night to study the wolf.

This tireless, and often lonely work, led him to come to know every wolf by name, calling them after Greek and Roman gods.

"I have tried to resist becoming too close to the animals because populations are more important than individuals," he said. "But after watching them in their day to day life it was impossible not to become attached to them. Each wolf that died was a great loss."

The wolf's uniqueness and remote habitat has always meant a small population. But an increase in agriculture and livestock farming in the region has led its close-knit family groups being increasingly frag- mented. The Ethiopian wolf is active during the day - as opposed to nocturnal like most wolves - and unafraid of humans. This has led to increasing contact with people and, critically, with domestic dogs. The main threats to the species are diseases like rabies and hybridisation with domestic dogs.

"You are more likely to see an Ethiopian wolf in the wild than a common wolf even though there are only 400 left," said Claudio.

"The uniqueness of the species and the peril they found themselves in was so apparent that I could not walk away. They are a bit like a family to me because I have been working with them for so long." Claudio's bid to save the wolf received a vital boost in the late 1980s when he was accepted by Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit to study for a doctorate in the behaviour and ecology of the Ethiopian wolf. In 1994, he became a member of the unit's staff and since 1995 has had the support of the Born Free Foundation.

Although he still spends half of his time fundraising, the support has helped Claudio implement a programme of conservation and education in Ethiopia. This includes a vaccination programme of local dogs and a campaign to promote habitat conservation with the Ethiopian government. Eight members of his team are Ethiopians employed in educating the local community about the importance of the endangered species on their doorstep.

Claudio, who adopted his 18-year-old son Max in Ethiopia, in 1991, has even contributed to a children's book on the wolf's plight.

He said: "We have been very successful in raising people's awareness, letting them understand that the wolves are unique to Ethiopia, and by protecting the wolves, we can also help to protect their environment and way of life. The wolf is a flagship for the Ethiopian highlands. In order to protect the wolf we have to protect their habitat. That will then conserve other animal and plant species."

As we spoke, Claudio's thoughts were on torn between Argentina's chances in the World Cup and an eight-month trip to Ethiopia, due to start next month, in which he will try to establish a captive breeding programme to bolster numbers of the wolf.

Despite all his efforts, Claudio has to be realistic about his chances of success.

He said: "Due to the small numbers, we could loose the population through shear bad luck."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.