The lobo-guará, which spent a year being trained and cared for to return to nature, was killed in a car accident in January on a rural road near the Serra da Canastra National Park. Lobinha, as she was affectionately called by researchers, was part of a pioneering research project by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Carnivorous Mammals (Cenap) of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and partners. The aim of the research, an activity of the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lobo-Guará, coordinated by Cenap, was to create a behavioral rehabilitation protocol for the release of orphaned lobo-guarás rescued from the wild after losing their parents to hunting, wildfires, or car accidents.
“We were devastated by this tragedy. Today I say it is very hard to believe that one day the wolves will be able to survive all the threats they face. However, we will continue fighting to improve the survival conditions 
of this species,” says Cenap researcher Rogério Cunha de Paula.
It had been almost two months since Lobinha was released in the Serra da Canastra and she was being monitored by a GPS collar. “The collar sent us a mortality alert and we went after her, hoping it was just a malfunction. Unfortunately, it was not. She suffered an impact, probably from a motorcycle, and passed away 30 minutes later,” he reports.
The species, one of the icons of the Cerrado biodiversity, is at risk of extinction, and car accidents are now one of the biggest threats to its survival. “Whenever we talk about accidents, we think of a highway, not a dirt rural road. How many other animals are dying this same way out there, without us knowing?” questions Rogério. The accident reignites an important issue regarding the drastic reduction of populations of endangered species on roads across the country. Lobinha’s case warns that surveys of animals hit by vehicles may be greatly underestimated.
The project, conducted with extreme technical rigor, utilizing existing scientific data for behavioral rehabilitation and information collected from monitored wolves in the region, was developed by researchers from ICMBio, the Pró-Carnívoros Institute, and the University of Franca (SP).
History
The female wolf was rescued as a cub after her parents disappeared during a wildfire in the interior of São Paulo in 2016. Lobinha was rescued at just 4 months old and likely would not have survived on her own at that age. She would have been, like other rescued wolf orphans, incorporated into the stock of some institution maintaining animals in captivity. Seeking to solve the problem of declining wolf populations due to the removal of cubs and young, researchers decided to innovate. They cared for the animal so that she could return to nature. During her semi-captive period (in a 2,600 m2 enclosure in a natural area), she was provided with fruits, hunting training, and periodic health monitoring. Thus, she was trained to survive.
After almost a year, the researchers opened the gate of the training enclosure, freeing the wolf to regain her freedom and live in the wild. “During this period, she met all the expected markers to gain her freedom. Her hunting behavior was impeccable, her health was perfect,” says the researcher. Unfortunately, after all the effort made on both sides, the research was cut short by an accident, which ended the project and the many possibilities that Lobinha would have brought to the science and conservation of lobo-guarás in Brazil. However, the time she lived free confirmed the success of the project and reignited great hope for the orphans. Thanks to the path paved by Lobinha in her 20 months of life, all of them will have their second chances.
Source: ICMBio Communication