Wild dogs 'still roam the Serengeti'

Conservationists' belief that rare wild dogs that roamed the Serengeti and other nature reserves in eastern Africa had become extinct has been challenged by new research.

In 1991, nature experts claimed that the endangered African wild dogs had died out, but new evidence has disproved this idea.

The Natural Environment Research Council reports that researchers in the UK and US have analysed animals that lived in the national park before 1991, as well as those that seemingly re-emerged ten years later and found that there were genetic similarities.

This means that the creatures did not become extinct at all, but it is still unclear as to where they all disappeared to during the ten-year period.

Dr Barbara Mable of the University of Glasgow commented: "The data suggest that there wasn't complete extinction in the region, which is encouraging."

People planning to take a luxury safari in Tanzania may see some of the rare dogs, but will almost certainly encounter a whole host of creatures, ranging from elephants to wildebeest.