Gradually the dogs became livelier prancing and playing. Getting to their feet, the pack members exchanged elaborate greetingsвЂ¦ whimpering as they sniffed, smelt and licked one another. One by one the dogs woke, yawned and stretched. Aside from the occasional flick of a tail, the pack lay inert. The only sound to be heard was a distant bird call. They lay napping in a shady depression, camouflaged by their mottled coats. One of my most memorable encounters was in ZimbabweвЂ™s Mana Pools National Park, when late one afternoon we sat, silently watching a pack of sixteen wild dogs.

Wild dogs are my favourite animal to see on safari. Unlike other social carnivores, wild dogs have an extraordinary social dynamic and the whole pack will work together to raise a litter of pups, even if that means letting them feed first on a kill. After the hunt, the pack will usually return to the den, where they regurgitate their kill for pups, as well as old or injured pack members. Before the pack literally tears them limb from limb, at an astonishing rate eating pretty much the entire carcass. Wild dogs have an ability to coordinate their moves, combined with their relentless running skills, this enables them to take down animals over ten times their size. Using stamina to overcome their prey, they can maintain an impressive 50km/hr for extended periods of time, occasionally reaching top speeds of 70km/hrвЂ¦ effectively running their prey to exhaustion. They are prodigious athletes, able to outrun almost any creature over long distances. Hunting in packs, that number anywhere from five to forty, adult wild dogs unite to become an awesome killing machine, communicating constantly with bird-like chirrups and hoots. These are highly successful hunters, with a success rate of around 80% (remarkable considering lions only average 30%). Wild dogs have an extraordinary social dynamic.Д®asily recognisable with their tan, black and white coats, each as unique as a fingerprint, wild dogs are highly social animals, living in packs led by an alpha male and female.

Thankfully the African Wild Dog has undergone a very good PR makeover over the last few years and has now become one of the most wished-for safari sightings. Nowadays populations are limited to pockets of wildlife sanctuaries and reserves. African Wild Dogs require huge ranges and habitat fragmentation has caused their decline. Seen as pests by farmers and blamed for livestock deaths (more often than not the work of lions or hyenas) they are regularly poisoned or they catch distemper and rabies from domestic dogs. Once found all over Africa, the number of African Wild Dogs have drastically declined over the last 100 years. If you enjoy this article, please consider creating an account to support our journalism so we can keep going.

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