Uttarakhand
Stray Dogs Near Corbett Tiger Reserve to be Vaccinated
- 17 Aug 2024
- 2 min read
Why in News?
According to the sources, Stray dogs in villages within 2 kilometre radius of the Corbett Tiger Reserve's boundaries in Uttarakhand will be vaccinated against the canine distemper virus so that the disease does not infect tigers and elephants of the reserve.
Key Points
- Canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of dogs.
- The vaccination drive will be conducted as part of a central government funded pilot project for better health of wildlife.
- It is a project of the National Mission for Himalayan Studies of the Government of India, aims to work on ways to improve the health of the country's wildlife.
- The Veterinary Department of Uttarakhand government and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) located in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly will jointly examine and vaccinate stray dogs.
Canine Distemper Virus
- Canine distemper virus is known mainly to cause a severe infection in dogs and wild carnivores such as wolves, foxes, raccoons, red pandas, ferrets, hyenas, tigers, and lions.
- The prevalence of this virus and its diversity in wildlife of India is not adequately studied.
- A lion does not eat the entire prey at one go. In between, the dogs consume the kill and infect it with the CDV. Once the lion returns to finish it off, it gets the deadly disease.
- The CDV is more dangerous for lions than tigers. This is because lions move together in large numbers, making them more vulnerable to the virus as compared to tigers that are more isolated and territorial animals.
