Wild Dog

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The Wild Dog is the most endangered carnivore in all of Africa. Once prevalent throughout the entire continent, a combination of human hatred (the Dog was considered evil due to their tendency to eat prey alive) and sickness (their habit of regurgitating food for their young means viruses spread rapidly) has left only a few packs in the best national parks, reserves and private parks in Southern and East Africa.

I first went searching for them in Madikwe, an excellent private reserve in northern South Africa. After searching fruitlessly for two days we did manage to get a brief glimpse late the second evening. So the next morning we set off way before dawn, but for hours nothing, no tracks, no calls, nothing. Just as we were about to give up we rounded a corner and there were – a fantastic pack of 19 dogs. Given that all the other vehicles had at this point scattered, we had the luxury of tracking them solo for more than an hour as they hunted through the bush. Our adrenalin went up a few notches as a warthog made a lucky and successful dive for its burrow. It then went even higher as a waterbuck call set the dogs off – by the time we reached the spot thirty few seconds later they had already taken down a young waterbuck, the mother having had no choice but to scatter. But the best was yet to come – two large male lions approached from downwind having got the scent of the kill. We sat breathless as they stalked, before roaring and erupting into the middle of the pack. Lucky for the dogs, they were just fast enough to avoid their mortal enemies.

Since that time, I’ve had the great good fortune to see them again in Madikwe and then multiple times on my next trip to Botswana (in fact those dogs were the catalyst for my single best sighting in Africa, swimming lions!)