Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

The African wild dog, also known as the Cape hunting dog, is Africa's most endangered carnivore. The term endangered means that it is in danger of extinction and unlikely to survive if the factors causing its decline in numbers continue. Unfortunately its endangered status is the result of direct persecution by people. African wild dogs are great roamers and frequently come into contact with farmers and their livestock. Since they prey on small stock they are often shot or poisoned by farmers. Until the 1960s even game rangers eliminated the dogs wherever they could: they were blamed for creating havoc amongst antelope herds which were then regarded as the priorities of wildlife preservation. Recent research on these interesting creatures has revealed their fascinating social habits and beneficial role in weeding weak animals out of antelope populations. Reserves now prize any packs living within their boundaries, these being the only places where wild dogs will survive. Packs often leave the boundaries of protected areas and are then at great risk from stock farmers. Although they breed well in captivity and are thus available for reintroduction, there are few suitable areas to which wild dogs can be returned. Another reason for their demise is diseases like distemper and rabies. Because of their social behaviour diseases like these spread around the pack often killing all the dogs.

After an absence from KwaZulu-Natal of about fifty years, 22 wild dogs were reintroduced into Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in 1980-1981. This release was successful but numbers declined after 1993. Following recommendations by the wild dog biologists and approval by KZN Wildlife more wild dogs were released into HUP in 1997. This was to enable the population to become part of the proposed Southern African Metapopulation.
Besides these successes in awareness a great deal has been learned about wild dog reintroductions and this has greatly contributed to their conservation. This has led to a better understanding of pack formation in bomas and the integration of introduced dogs into existing wild dog packs. The project has for the first time monitored the formation of a new pack consisting of existing and reintroduced wild dogs - obviously extremely important for their conservation.

Zululand wild dog conservation and management programme  

In Hluhluwe/Imfolozi a number of research and conservation projects are currently being conducted. One of these projects is the Zululand wild dog conservation and management programme. I was fortunate enough to be invited to join this wild dog research team for one day. The main objects of this research programme is to determine the status and pack forming dynamics of wild dogs in HiP and, by collaborating with other researchers, determine the role lions and spotted hyenas play in the conservation of wild dogs in small conservation areas. Please select the 'wild dog conservation programme' link on the bottom of the page for information about this project pictures and to see some pictures I took during the visit to this research programme. As is the case with most of the wildlife research projects this wild dog conservation programme is underfunded. The wild dog research project relies heavilly on gifts for their funding. Without funding this research project can not continue which would be a major blow to the survival chances of the wild dogs in the wild. Please support the Hluhluwe/Imfolozi wild dog research project by making a donation to it. Any donations are most welcome and needed and can be sent directly to the project or directed to the project via KZN Wildlife.

Distribution

Wild dogs preferred habitat is savannah, plains, swamps, semi desert and mountains of up to 3,000m. They occur patchily south of the Sahara, where they are now rarely found outside the borders of wildlife sanctuaries. At one time they lived throughout the non-forested and non-desert areas of Africa. Their current distribution is more fragmented. African hunting dogs are now found in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and the Transvaal. In southern Africa wild dogs are confined to large game reserves, such as the Kruger, Moremi, and Chobe parks as well as the smaller Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. Free-roaming packs still occur in the Bushmanland region of Namibia.

Social organisation

Wild dogs typically live in packs of 6-30 individuals, although there are sometimes up to 90 dogs in one pack. There is a high degree of social co-operation and interaction between the individuals, and they communicate using calls and body postures. They roam over large areas in search of prey, and undergo a meeting ceremony before the hunt. There is usually a dominant male and female pair within the pack, who will normally be the only pair to breed. The females are related to each other and the males are related to each other, but the females are not related to the males. The whole pack care for the pups and will feed any without mothers. Pups are the first in the pack to feed at a kill, eating even before the dominant pair.

Predatory behaviour

Wild dogs are specialised pack hunters of medium sized antelopes such as Thompson's gazelles, impala, reedbuck, lechwe, springbok and even zebra. Wild dogs rea one of the most exclusive carnivorous carnivores. Apart from small amounts of grass they eat no plant food or insects and will rarely eat carrion. Most of what it eats it kills itself apart from the occasional kill that is scavenged of other predators. Wild dogs also almost never cache surplus food or return to a kill. Often regarded as merciless and cruel killers, wild dogs are in fact among the most efficient of Africa's large predators. Their bad reputation is unjustified and probably a result of the frequent observation of their kills by people, as the dogs hunt mostly by day. The more `noble' lion or leopard hunts mainly after dark, and is thus seldom seen in action. However, they usually take far longer to finish off their quarry than do wild dogs. Wild dogs hunt as a pack - they quickly single out a weak or injured animal within a herd, and the animal is then pursued until it can run no further. Wild dogs are tireless runners and chases may cover several kilometres. Contrary to popular belief, the dogs do not take turns to wear down prey. The mottled hunters quickly kill and consume their prey - impala, grey duiker, steenbok, and the young of the larger antelopes are popular items on their menu.

Reproduction

Wild dogs will take over the burrows of warthogs and other creatures, and expand them for their own needs. After very brief courtships, and gestation periods of 69-72 days, the litters are born underground. In southern Africa births occur in the middle of the dry season, when the visibility for hunting is at its best, and the chances of finding food for the young greatest. Litters usually consist of between 7 and 14 pups, with 21 having being recorded in one litter. The young remain in their underground burrow for the first two months of life. They are guarded at all times by one or more adults who remain behind whilst the pack is out on the hunt. On returning, pups and guardians alike are fed regurgitated meat by the hunters. The pups are weaned after three months, and start to join the rest of the pack on hunts after six months. Should the mother of the pups die, they will be adopted by other pack members. Despite the attentiveness of the pack, there is a high mortality amongst pups which may succumb to a variety of diseases or predation.