International Lifestyle Magazine Issue 50 | Page 29

O

ther cruisers emerge from the surrounding mopane woodland and feed in behind us, eating our dust as we track down our quarry. Minutes later we round a corner and there they are; 7 African wild dogs, also known as painted wolves, chilling out on the track ahead with little concern for us. Bloody muzzles tell us that they have recently killed and in fact a few meters away we see a rack of kudu ribs, smelly stomach bag and an assortment of bones.

her pack and disappeared from sight. Interestingly her pack had faithfully hung around during the whole process, one of them in plain sight about 50 meters from the scene. This group of wild dogs is part of a population of 25 dogs in the vast Limpopo-Lipadi Private Game and Wilderness Reserve in Botswana’s Tuli Block. The IUCN Red List says there are only about 6,600 wild dogs left, of which only 1,400 are mature enough to breed. Other sources refer to lower figures. They all agree though that wild dogs are in trouble – they are southern Africa’s most endangered predator. Habitat loss has limited the spaces big enough to encompass the vast roaming areas they need. This has brought them into conflict with farmers and herdsmen and into contact with domesticated dogs which carry diseases against which they little or no resistance. Painted wolves have been pushed to the brink. And so these relatively safe wild dogs at Limpopo-Lipadi are a stable and valuable resource, not only for the Tuli metapopulation and the future survival of the species, but for research purposes as well.

I could watch these dainty and fascinating predators for hours, but for now we are on a mission – to replace the radio collar on one of the older male dogs and to collar a sub-adult female. Our party consists of an odd assortment of Limpopo-Lipadi shareholders, staff, volunteers, a camera crew and a vet. Within minutes the target young female dog is selected, darted and then left to doze off in peace. And a short while later the dog has been collared and sampled, and is starting to wake up. We back off to reduce the stress but stay close enough to step in should other predators choose this vulnerable moment to attack her. I am close enough to watch as she comes to – first her ears twitch, then she emits a mournful keening sound, then her eyes pop open, focus and in a split-second she is up and running away, albeit unsteadily. Minutes later she has hooked up with

“Habitat loss has limited the spaces big enough to
” encompass the vast roaming areas they need.

www.internationallifestylemagazine.com