In mid-January 2018, Manyoni Private Game Reserve became temporary owners of a pack of wild dogs.
Their story is quite extraordinary. A male dispersal – the movement of an animal from its birth site, possibly to a future breeding site – travelled c. 100km (c. 62mi) and met up with a female dispersal who travelled c. 45km (c. 28mi) in the same direction. They encountered each other in a town nearby, Pongola where they travelled a further 100km through farmlands, across freeways and through fences where they established a home-range on a reserve in Vryheid. The survival of these two dispersals is incredibly unlikely, crossing farmlands with the risk of being shot, crossing freeways with the risk of traffic, and just surviving predators is remarkable. The distance is something wild dogs are accustomed to, they can travel up to as much as 50km (31mi) a day.
The two dispersals had 9 pups here and were captured a year later. The pack were placed into temporary bomas until they could be released into their destined reserve. They stayed on a reserve nearby for about 2 weeks and were then relocated to a boma here on Manyoni Private Game Reserve.
We hosted the pack for two weeks, sponsoring food and shelter while their new home was being made ready for their arrival. The pack required 24-hour observation as they were quite adamant to escape from the boma – rangers and staff all over the reserve pulled together to have a 24-hour watch to ensure the pack didn’t escape.
The pack will have a massive effect on future generations with a new set of genetics being spread into new areas. African wild dogs cover great distances and, depending on pack sizes, can take down an impala a day – building up quite the bill. So, farmers are hesitant to keep wild dogs on their farms. With the involvement of WACT (Wildlife Act) the dogs have got their “forever home” on a reserve in Limpopo, taking Kwa-Zulu Natal genes further north. These dogs will be protected and hopefully, continue building in strength and numbers to remove the species from the endangered list.
Written by Jian Du Plooy
Contact Leopard Mountain Lodge:
Web. www.leopardmountain.co.za
Email. info@leopardmountain.co.za
Tel. +27 35 595 8218
