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Terrestrial Wild Animals
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Carnivorous and Omnivores Animals, Excluding Felids
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Canids (Canidae) & Hyaenids (Hyaenidae)
African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
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African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
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From Singita Sabi Sand report:
The Legends, article by Ian Mey. The African painted wolf or wild dog has and will always have a special place in my heart. Not only are they one of southern Africa’s most efficient hunters, they are also one of its rarest and, in my opinion,most beautiful.
Wild dog sightings in any part of the Africa can be very few and far between and that is if you can actually keep up with them asthey float through the bush, effortlessly ranging from grasslands to thick woodlands as seamlessly as a bird changing direction in the open skies. Their hunting strategy is the very pinnacle of collaboration, with the pack working intuitively with one another to wear down their prey, which can range from antelope as small as steenbok to fully-grown kudu bulls.
In the last month at Singita Sabi Sand, we have been extremely fortunate, in that a pack of eight adult wild dogs have been denning in the northern parts of our property, allowing for an insider’s view into one of the greatest privileges of my life, to be allowed to view and watch seven tiny pups grow. The structure of a pack is very similar to that of the wolves found throughout Europe and North America with there being an alpha pair who lead anything from 2 to 30 other individuals. The alpha pair is usually the only breeding pairin the pack and whatever young they produce are raised by the entire pack as their own. The size of the wild dogs makes it difficult for them to drag back sizeable chunks of meat to the den for both the pups and their minders, who would stay behind to guard the youngsters while they are too young to join the hunts, but their ingenious solution is to devour their prey and the n regurgitate readymade take-away portions!
Watching these sublime predators interacting with the animals around them has provided some of my most spectacular sightings as they punch far above their weight with the pack structure and their incredible speed and agility allowing them to out-compete and out-manoeuvreall but the largest and most powerful of Africa’s predators, the lion. On more than one occasion I have witnessed packs chasing leopards up trees or fighting hyenas far larger then themselves into submission.
Many guests arrive not knowing the occasion behind a sighting of these magnificent carnivores, but most that do get to share our delight in such a viewing, leave with a memory as haunting as the call of a pack member lost and trying to find his way home.
The Toulon Pack of wild dogs killed a duiker and brought the pups in to feed. What an incredible sighting!. Credits to Sabi Sabi.
Painted Wolves enjoying the sand of the Timbavati river. Credits to Wild Aperture - Steve Walker Photography.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
From Londolozi, The African Wild Dog: On the Hunt Again…: By Callum Gowar.
Many rangers, in collaboration with their trackers, tend to have a general plan when they leave camp of what they’re going to look for on a game drive based on what their guests would like to see. But as much as we like to have a plan, nature doesn’t often abide and quite often the plan goes out the window to make room for an unexpected occurrence. This is no more true than with wild dogs who seem to pop up and disappear at the most unexpected times. I refer to one particular morning recently where we had been tracking the lionesses from the Mhangeni pride for over an hour with little to no luck. The tracks moved through a very thick area where a number of elephants were now feeding, forcing us to divert off course. After some time we managed to re-find fresh tracks, and with renewed optimism continued following the lions down into the Sand River. At this point, Freddy Ngobeni, the tracker I work with, looked up and exclaimed with immense excitement in his voice “wild dog, wild dog!”. Immediately I erupted with elation as we watched the dogs slowly trotting on the northern side of the Sand River. In true wild dog fashion, the pack sharply changed direction and demeanor and began chasing after an old nyala bull who was no match for the determined dogs. Having witnessed the beginning of the hunt from the southern side of the river, and with limited access, we raced around to a crossing point where we caught the culmination of the hunt and the successful take down of the big male nyala. The bloodied face and muzzle of a wild dog after taking down the nyala. Despite it appearing quite brutal, these animals kill their prey incredibly quickly and efficiently, with the nyala succumbing to shock and blood loss. The kills are often much faster than that of a lion or leopard kill.  *This image is copyright of its original author Once the pack has the animal down, they feed simultaneously, sharing amongst them. This incredible team work and pack mentality is another reason they are such incredible animals to watch.  *This image is copyright of its original author One of the dogs scans for the presence of other predators or any other potential danger, whilst the rest of the group feeds.  *This image is copyright of its original author Being such endangered animals, it is always incredibly exciting to see wild dogs but to see them on foot and hunting, completely made the morning for all of us. Proof that sometimes the best plan is in fact scrapping the plan and just going along with what nature puts on offer.
From Sabi Sabi:
The Toulon Pack of wild dogs has been very active over the last week and were seen again yesterday looking for hunting opportunities after an afternoon of relaxation and looking after the puppies.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
An African wild dog scanning its surroundings, from the Okavango Delta photosafari I just completed. I will be back in the Delta with Eyes on Africa again later this year. Image with a Canon EF 100-400L IS ii and 1DX. Shutter speed 1/800sec at f5.6, iso 1600. Handheld. #wildography
Credits to Atkinson Photography and Safaris  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Kambaku Lodge
We were very fortunate to have a Wild dog den for a few weeks on Kambaku. The pups are following the adult on the hunt know and it has only been +- 3 months.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Endangered African wild dog puppies!
by #wildographer Chris Johns  *This image is copyright of its original author
A pup greeting and begging for some food from one of the pack members. Credits to Brendon Cremer Photography.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
“There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run. You are not running for some future reward-the real reward is now!”...A monochrome image of an African Wild Dog running down a slope as he dashes towards a herd of impalas.
Credits to Ronesh Parbhoo  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Cheetah Plains.
The high pitched twittering of excited wild dogs meant one thing - they had hunted successfully. We set about to locate the kill before it was finished, and we did! Although it can be gory, it is an amazing sighting to see. Image by Andrew Khosa  *This image is copyright of its original author
Zebras protecting their young from a pack of hungry African wild dogs...
by #wildographer Peter Chadwick.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Wild Dogs & Pups Make a Kill at nThambo!:
Putting it modestly, we’ve had an EPIC couple of weeks in the Klaserie! There’s just no other way of putting it. From a cheetah calmly feeding on her kill, only to lose it to a leopard; the Breakaway lionesses killing a buffalo right in front of our eyes, shortly joined by the greedy Mapoza male; the an elephant delivering a stillborn calf, and sadly losing it to the lions; numerous leopard sightings that knocked our socks off; the Hercules Pride spotted once again in our neck of the woods, feasting happily on a buffalo kill; and now, a pack of African wild dogs seen taking down a pregnant impala in front of nThambo Tree Camp this morning! Africa on Foot guests were out on a walking safari this morning, while nThambo guests were being driven around the Klaserie by their guides Luan and Isaack. Only 10 minutes into the safari, Luan spotted the pack of wild dogs not far from nThambo at a waterhole called Wim’s Dam. His guests got the first visual of these rare and endangered predators, which also go by the name painted wolves, or Cape hunting dogs. Luan called in the sighting on the radio, notifying Greg and Enoch from Africa on Foot, who decided that the wild dogs were a good enough reason to cut their walking safari short and take a game viewer to the sighting. The dogs were on the move. A pack of 11 (6 pups and 5 adults) trotting quickly through the bush, on the scent of something tasty, and soon they arrived in the open area in front of nThambo Tree Camp. The 5 guest chalets at nThambo overlook the open area and have views of the Klaserie all the way to the Drakensberg Mountains in the distance. This almost shrub-free plain is perfect for a quick hunt, and that’s exactly what the wild dogs had in mind! They picked up the pace to a sprint and bolted across the open area after a herd of impala, coming to a successful halt just in front of guest chalet 1. Southern Africa’s most endangered large carnivore had just made a kill right in front of our eyes!  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author At this time of year, the pregnant impala ewes are beginning to drop their lambs, and it just so happened that this particular female that was caught by the dogs was expecting. The death was quick, as the dogs worked fast to disembowel their prey, and once the pack of 11 started to feed from the carcass, it became clear that they had got more than they bargained for. The carcass was reduced to skin and bone in a matter of minutes, and soon it was all over. A classic and very fortunate safari sighting for our guests!  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
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