PROJECT GOAL: Study the ecology of wildlife and evaluate risk factors that may be involved with the transmission of rabies among wildlife and rabies virus trafficking across landscapes and to develop methods and strategies that reduce or eliminate such transmission.

Objective 1: Determine the significance of demography, behavior, movements, and dispersal of raccoons and striped skunks as they may relate to the transmission and rabies virus trafficking across ecosystems.

Objective 2: Develop and/or evaluate methods and technologies for use by the oral rabies vaccination program to increase effectiveness in vaccinating free-ranging wildlife against rabies which may reduce or eliminate the transmission of rabies from wildlife to humans, livestock, and other wildlife.

Objective 3: Obtain information on the ecology of gray foxes for possible development of improved baiting strategies for the oral rabies vaccination program in Texas.

Objective 4: Evaluate long-term efficacy of the V-RG vaccine and factors that may interfere with or reduce rabies vaccination rates in free-ranging raccoons.