sylvatic
adjective
syl·vat·ic
sil-ˈva-tik 
1
: sylvan
sylvatic rodents
2
: occurring in or affecting wild animals
sylvatic diseases
Examples of sylvatic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The ferrets were reintroduced only after scientists were able to combat the sylvatic plague, described by Game and Fish as one of the biggest threats to black-footed ferrets.
—
Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 1 Dec. 2024
The culprit was sylvatic plague, a bacterial disease that devastates both ferrets and their primary prey, Gunnison's prairie dogs.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
Their decline was largely due to a combination of habitat loss, diseases including the sylvatic plague and a reduction in their primary food source: prairie dogs.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
The sylvatic plague, first introduced to the United States in the early 1900s, infects ferrets and prairie dogs through fleas, killing the ferrets directly and wiping out their food sources.
—Austin Corona, The Arizona Republic, 23 Sep. 2024
Pigs, rats, and dogs are the beasts most commonly implicated as hosts in the domestic sphere, but more exotic animals such as wild boar, walrus, and polar bear may also serve in the sylvatic or wild animal cycle of Trichinella.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2016
Shortly after, a new threat arose when a spread of sylvatic plague nearly wiped out the remaining ferrets, spreading from the prairie dogs the ferrets prey on.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2022
Added genetic diversity could help protect the population from diseases such as sylvatic plague and canine distemper that periodically slash its numbers, reports Mead Gruver for the Associated Press.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2021
All ferrets reintroduced so far are the descendants of just seven closely related animals — genetic similarity that makes today’s ferrets potentially susceptible to intestinal parasites and diseases such as sylvatic plague.
—NBC News, 19 Feb. 2021
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Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 1 Dec. 2024
The culprit was sylvatic plague, a bacterial disease that devastates both ferrets and their primary prey, Gunnison's prairie dogs.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
Their decline was largely due to a combination of habitat loss, diseases including the sylvatic plague and a reduction in their primary food source: prairie dogs.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
The sylvatic plague, first introduced to the United States in the early 1900s, infects ferrets and prairie dogs through fleas, killing the ferrets directly and wiping out their food sources.
—Austin Corona, The Arizona Republic, 23 Sep. 2024
Pigs, rats, and dogs are the beasts most commonly implicated as hosts in the domestic sphere, but more exotic animals such as wild boar, walrus, and polar bear may also serve in the sylvatic or wild animal cycle of Trichinella.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2016
Shortly after, a new threat arose when a spread of sylvatic plague nearly wiped out the remaining ferrets, spreading from the prairie dogs the ferrets prey on.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2022
Added genetic diversity could help protect the population from diseases such as sylvatic plague and canine distemper that periodically slash its numbers, reports Mead Gruver for the Associated Press.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2021
All ferrets reintroduced so far are the descendants of just seven closely related animals — genetic similarity that makes today’s ferrets potentially susceptible to intestinal parasites and diseases such as sylvatic plague.
—NBC News, 19 Feb. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Sylvatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sylvatic. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sylvatic
adjective
syl·vat·ic
sil-ˈvat-ik
: occurring in, affecting, or transmitted by wild animals
sylvatic diseases
sylvatic yellow fever
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