| WILD DOG SIGHTINGS - 2000
Archives: 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 December 2000There were but three encounters with these African Hunting Dogs, probably representing two separate packs. The one pack of eight was seen on successive days in the central and southern regions of the reserve. On each of the days they were seen with a kill, the first a duiker, the second a young impala. At the duiker kill, some rhinos, which were grazing nearby, wandered across to see what the commotion was about. In their own curious and playful way, the Wild Dogs set about harassing the rhinos for a while before both parties parted company. The second pack was seen one on the Mala Mala airstrip and comprised 5 animals, four adults and one youngster. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 13 November 2000There were only two sightings of wild dogs this month, these within two days of each other and probably of the same group of five animals, comprising, it is thought, four adults and one sub adult. It is not certain whether they were from the pack which denned towards the southern parts of Mala Mala this past dry season or from another pack. Both encounters with these wild dogs were on the western bank of the Sand River, one towards the south of the reserve, the second 15 or so kilometers further north. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 5 October 2000There was but a single sighting of wild dogs this month, but as could be expected of these hyperactive canines, it was an encounter to remember. The pack of eight - composition appearing to be 7 adults and 1 five-or-so month-old youngster - appeared on the northern central areas of the reserve and jogged south for some kilometres before they all split up in a frenzied chase after impala. With dogs and impala going in all directions, it was not until two of them called in the rest to a mostly-completed carcass of a young impala, that all reassembled. In true sharing fashion, none of them went hungry. Those that did not glean much from the bones of the carcass, begged from those which did and through regurgitation, the food was disseminated. At one time whilst a small portion of the wild dogs was waiting to be called by the others, a young hyaena arrived on the scene, no doubt attracted by the noise of the hunt. With scarcely a wait, the wild dogs attacked the hyaena, nipping it and harassing it so that it went off at speed. The following day the Wild Dogs had gone. Now that the pups of the various packs in the area have become highly mobile, the appearance or not of any of these dogs will depend upon a variety of factors. One of the reasons why this particular pack moved off so soon after appearing may have been due to the arrival in the area of most of the lions of the Eyrefield Pride and West Street Males. Lions are possibly the worst enemies any pack of Wild Dogs could have and it could be expected that the more vulnerable canines would not tempt fate and stay in the same area. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 8 September 2000September saw the last of the Wild Dog pack which had occupied the southwestern parts of Charleston since early June. The eight pups and their guardian adults - three males and a female - headed southeast towards the border of the Kruger National Park. At the end of August the pups were already starting to spend less and less time even close to the den and by the beginning of September had abandoned the sight almost completely, the pack seemingly preferring to keep them on the move around the area. For a while it appeared as if they would cross the Sand River, but this must have been too much of a deterrent and they decided instead to head around the bend and move south. Shortly before they moved off, researchers from the Kruger National Park retrieved the radio collar from the remains of the mother of the pups. She disappeared shortly after the den sight was discovered, but her fate was at that stage not known. The remains of this female were apparently quite close to the den sight, but provided no clues as to what had killed her, all that was found, aside from the collar, was a pile of fur and a few bones. As is known, however, the enemies of these canines are numerous. At one stage the dominant male of the group caused something of a scare when he was found having returned from the nightly hunt sporting some evil looking wounds, these mostly inflicted upon his head region. It is not known with which of the other large carnivores he had had this encounter, but, judging from his appearance, he had been lucky to escape. Fortunately many wild animals have an astounding ability to recover and after a day or two of looking thoroughly miserable, the wounds had almost healed and this large male appeared more or less recovered. Should he have succumbed to these injuries, then the pack would have been in dire straits as the three other adults still appeared quite young and would have sorely missed the experienced leadership of this male. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 12 August 2000The antics of the wild dogs at the den site on south western Charleston have provided hours of fine entertainment, with the pups and adults showing either mild curiosity towards vehicles or no reaction to their presence at all. Towards the beginning of this game report period, five adults and eight pups were to be seen. Of the adults, two were females, the other three males. However, it soon became evident that the dominant female, the mother of the cubs, had vanished. Initially it was hoped that she was merely lying low, taking a break from the antics of her hyperactive pups. But this was not to be and the pack would have to continue without her, which is exactly what they did. Interestingly, it was noted that when out hunting, no 'minder' was left behind to guard the pups, all four adults headed out on the hunts. The general pattern of movement established was for the adults to set out hunting as sunset approached. It is highly likely that they returned and then set out again, but this is not certain since there was no viewing of the den after dark. However, for the most part, the adults would also be absent from the den site in the first hours after sunrise, sometimes returning only towards mid-morning. Seeing such returns and the feeding produced some of the most fascinating viewing, with the pups mobbing the various adults, begging from them until they regurgitated the meat which had been carried back in their stomachs. For an hour or so during and after such feeding times, the pups would rush around, playing with each other and whatever objects they encountered around the den site and mercilessly chasing the birds, particularly the Crested Francolin which abounded in the area. The birds probably found the specks of wasted meat much to their liking and were quite content to weather the hour or so of harassment from the youngsters in return for what they could pick up. Thereafter the youngsters appeared to run out of energy and would flop down to sleep. There were no occasions witnessed when the adults hunted between mid-morning and late afternoon. At one of the sightings involving the wild dogs feeding their pups, the adults were seen returning, regurgitating food and then individually running off again, returning within 15 or 20 minutes with another load of meat. In this instance indications were that they had killed some large animal reasonably close to the den and, unable to carry all of the meat back at one time, were returning at intervals to collect more. This of course also meant that other predators, particularly hyaenas which so often follow a hunting pack of dogs, hoping to harass them from a kill, had not discovered this kill. The Wild Dogs have been at the current den sight for close to three months now and it is expected that they will leave it at any time. The longer they can stay in an area, the better it would be for the pups, but it would also mean that they increase the chances of running out of food and exposing themselves to their many enemies. On one of the occasions this month whilst both adults and pups were in attendance at the den, a hyaena was seen to appear. After lurking around for a while it moved off. At another time when only the pups were present and in the open, a female leopard appeared and walked past the den. Leopards - and other carnivores - hate wild dogs (and each other for that matter) and it is to be expected that, upon encountering one another, aggression will result. Quite surprisingly, this leopard made no effort to chase the pups. It is highly likely that she knew of the presence of the den, but perhaps the strong smell hinted at a presence other than the pups or a previous encounter with the adults which would have rushed to chase her off encouraged her not to engage in any rash behaviour. Such encounters, however, are bound to increase and it has been seen now that the pups spend almost no time even close to the termite mound wherein they were born, wandering as far away as 50 meters or more from this place of security. Up until recently the adults have been hunting mostly to the west of the den site, but now seem to be concentrating more to the east and late during this game report period were seen chasing and catching a young bushbuck flushed from the reeds of the Sand River. In the chase they crossed one of the streams of the river and killed the young antelope on a sand bar. When they wanted to return, however, a hippopotamus surfaced, causing the dogs some moments of concern before they forded the river again. It is not known where the dogs will move to; since they have been plundering the area to their west, it could well be that they will move east, but this may mean them crossing the Sand River. Perhaps this is what they plan to do and is why they have delayed for as long as possible so that both the flow of the river can drop and the pups can increase in strength. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 13 July 2000It has been known for some weeks that a small pack of Wild Dogs had established a den on the south western parts of Charleston. However, in order not to harass these animals in any way during the early stages of the pups' lives, the area in which the den sight was suspected to have been located was not disturbed by gamedrive vehicles. Towards the end of July, however, the decision was made to locate it, the time judged appropriate to view the animals. With the help of researchers from the Kruger National Park which had fitted a radio-collar to the alpha-female of the pack, the den was found and opened for cautious viewing. As expected, the den was an old termite mound with burrows in which the pups could hide if threatened. Eight youngsters have been counted and viewing of the adults returning from their nocturnal hunts and regurgitating food for these hungry pups has been good. Five adults have been counted, two females and three males. Just how long they will stay in the den is not known but will depend on several factors such as food availability in the immediate area, competing predators - particularly lions and hyaenas - and vermin such as fleas which may infest the den. The often traumatic and highly effective manner in which the Wild Dogs hunt not only decreases the local prey abundance, but places them on such high alert that the longer these carnivores stay in the area, the more difficult food acquisition will be. Since most of the hunting has been carried out to the west of the den-sight and because the high level of the Sand River may make the adults hesitant in taking the pups across, it is highly likely that when they do inevitably move, this will be either to the north or the south. Number of Wild Dogs encountered:JULY 13 June 2000There is now strong evidence that a pack of 5 wild dogs have established a den sight on SW Charleston. However, in order that these at times quite sensitive animals are not frightened from the area and into abandoning their still helpless pups, investigations into this and locating the den will be delayed for a few weeks. Early on in this game report period, a single wild dog was found with an impala kill close to the western bank of the Sand River on western Charleston. It is not certain where the rest of the pack was, but the only other animal in attendance was a hyaena which the wild dog was having a standoff with. All sightings of this pack of five dogs (the female is fitted with a radio collar as part of the Kruger National Park wild dog research programme) were on western Charleston and slightly north or south of this. Number of Wild Dogs encountered: 5 May 2000The only Wild Dogs seen during this game report period were reported by a field crew on SW Mala Mala, an area which has not seen much game-viewing activity due to the lack of access imposed by the rains. However, it is encouraging to know that they are still around, particularly at this time of year when they actively seek a den sight. The Wild Dog is one of the few predators which appears to have a regular breeding season, this typically being early winter. The den sight is often an old termite mound with good burrows and situated in an area where food is not only plentiful, but also harassment from their enemies is minimal. Number of Wild Dogs encountered (aside from the report by field crew of a small pack on SW Charleston) : 0 February/ March/ April 2000 Although no Wild Dogs were encountered during Mala Mala game-drives, field crew in February reported seeing a pack of approximately a dozen animals towards the north of the reserve. May is an important month for Wild Dogs since it is that time of year when they typically start looking for locations to bear their young. Such den sights are typically termite mounds that have burrows in them, these initially excavated by Aardvarks. However, in order for the den to be good, not only should it be structurally sound, but also the surrounding area must have good hunting potential and be relatively free from any form of harassment, particularly from lions and hyaenas. Number of Wild Dogs encountered :0 January 2000There were no sightings of Wild Dogs on Mala Mala this month Number of Wild Dogs encountered :0 MalaMala
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