We have Wild Dog news that is both good and bad. Beginning with the sad news, I am sorry to have to report that we have lost another dog. This time, Carat, a subordinate dog who was wearing a collar, was picked up as being away from the pack and stationary for a couple of days. This usually only means one thing so we went in knowing to expect the worst. Harriet, the head of the Carnivore Conservation Group at EWT tracked the collar until she could hear she was almost on top of it, and then saw the badly chewed collar lying in the grass. There was no sign of a body at all, and it may be that the collar had been carried by a hyaena or lion for some distance from where poor Carat met his end. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing what the cause of death was, and the Venetia pack has now dwindled to only 3 adults and one yearling.

 Venetia Wild Dogs on the move.

The good news is…. we think that Stellar, the alpha female, is now underground in her den with this year’s litter of puppies. The dogs are sticking closely to one area and Stellar has not been seen for a few days. She was certainly pregnant and this is the right time of year for denning so we are very hopeful. Had she also met a grisly end, we would not expect the rest of the pack to remain in such a close area. I will keep you posted on the puppies that may well bring the Venetia pack back from the brink.

Last year’s litter of puppies, of which only one, Rory, is remaining.

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Azwifarwi, my very able field assistant, is working towards his diploma in Nature Conservation and as part of that needs to complete a project on animal behavior. After much deliberation, he has decided to focus his study on the pack of Wild Dogs on Venetia. The pack are somewhat more skittish than usual after having to be darted twice each for their rabies injections, and so the extra hours Azwifarwi will spend with the dogs will help to regain their trust in having a vehicle present. Even in their more alert state, the Venetia pack is an exceptionally relaxed and well-habituated pack and so offer some of the best opportunities for tourists to observe Wild Dogs in their natural environment anywhere in Africa. Trips to see the Wild Dogs are hosted by one of the dedicated researchers and guests are often lucky enough to witness them hunting. As we come into the Southern Hemisphere Winter, it is approaching the time we expect the Wild Dogs to make their den and have another litter of puppies. We are confident that the alpha female, Stellar (so named for a white star on her coat), is pregnant.  There should be some interesting data for Azwifarwi to collect, along with the data collected by Kristi, the Wild Dog researcher. Last year the den was only 10 metres from the fence line with our farm, right where the cheetah family crossed over. We can hardly wait to see what this denning season brings!

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It is with heavy hearts that we have to report the sad death of one of our Wild Dogs, an adult male named Dalerwa. We thought we had lost him earlier in the month when the dogs came across a group of Lions in thick bush. The pack, minus Dalerwa appeared unscathed and we assumed the worst had happened, but he happily reappeared with the pack in perfect health a couple of days later. As he does not wear a radio-collar, his whereabouts during this period is unknown.
A few days ago however, Kristi, our new Wild Dog researcher, was out with the Wild Dogs when a group of sub-adult Lions (the same group that showed up with the call-ups) appeared out of the bush. All the dogs ran in one direction, except for poor Dalerwa who made a dash for freedom in another direction. The Lions were onto him and broke his back instantly.

The conflict between Lions and Wild Dogs is well known, and having been born on Venetia which has a very healthy Lion population, Dalerwa would not have been naïve of the dangers. It is always sad to lose an animal, particularly one that has been well-studied, but we try to remember that it part of the natural process. As a subordinate dog, Dalerwa did not play a part in the reproduction of the pack, but was a notably good hunter and provided generously for the pack’s puppies. As we go into the season where the Wild Dogs will den and produce another litter of puppies to feed, it may be that his absence is felt by the adults of the pack, who have now dwindled to just 4 in number. Wild Dogs are extremely resilient and we will keep you posted on their progress.

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