26/08/2023
Happy International Dog Day!
Laikipia (where I was back in June with the black leopard), is probably best well known for the wild dogs in the area. As with the black leopard, I had never seen a wild dog in the wild before, so this was very exciting. When we arrived we were told the dogs had moved out of the area (unable to cross into neighbouring private reserves), and it was not known if they would be back anytime soon. After a few days another vehicle from camp just stumbled across them! Once found, we were able to head back to the same area, find a signal coming from one of the collared dogs, and spend some quality time with them for a few days. First thing in the mornings gave us some incredible light. It was great to watch their behaviour, always fast asleep when we found them (either in the morning or in the hot afternoon), then they'd wake up and have a play, head off to a water source and go on the hunt. It was amazing to be able to drive in the middle of the pack as they hunted, and witness a number of successful hunts, made even more special as there tended to be just us or one other vehicle with them.
We were even able to get out of the vehicle with the dogs.... when I say we, I mean Chris and Albie - I may have been able to get down onto the ground, but with my back I wasn't going to get up again!! With some careful vehicle positioning and getting my camera as low as I could, I'm still happy to get some quite low shots.
Why are some of the dogs collared? The African wild dog (aka African hunting dog or African painted dog) is a critically endangered species, the 2nd most endangered carnivore in Africa. They really need to be carefully looked after. Unfortunately, some illegal snaring does still happen - the dogs are not the intended target, more for antelope for food, but of course any animal can get caught in them. In fact we found one of the pack snared around its neck - very, very carefully the snare was cut free from the tree, as had it been left the dog would certainly have died as it kept pulling the snare tighter and tighter, thrashing around trying to free itself. The dog ran off and it would be a while before vets could arrive, but thanks to the collars on the dogs the vet was able to find the snared dog and treat it - this happened the day we left, and I'm told the dog was totally fine afterwards, returning to the pack.
Here are just a handful of images I took, more will surely follow!
Nikon Africa Unlocked BBC Earth BBC Wildlife Magazine Wild Planet Nat Geo Wild National Geographic
