Wild dog hunt....continues

Wild dogs are probably the most successful predator in Africa and the most exciting to watch when they are on the hunt. Madikwe Game reserve is very well known for the wild dogs, and is without a question one of our icons. The reasons they are so successful are:

· They work in a pack system
· There is an alpha male and alpha fermale
· Their stamina for running prey down is ongoing
· They look after one another and always work with a plan.

This specific day we found them early in the south western corner of the park. They just finished of an impala that they chased into the fence. Wild dogs have adapted to fences and use it to their advantage. They know if they rely on the fence like they do on their pack members they can eat. They literally go and fetch the prey item and herd them towards the fence where they then run it into the fence, normally the animal is stunned or dead on impact. So I tend to think they see the fence as one of the pack members. It’s ironic in areas outside the reserve fences are the biggest problem in the declining of wild dog numbers in Africa and here they use it as part of their survival to eat. Wild dogs need a very big area to roam in, one pack needs at least 400 square km.

We left them and we went for breakfast. I told my guests that we will go back there late afternoon for the hunt…BIG WORDS I KNOW!! Luckily it paid off. We arrived at the spot where they were sleeping. They were gone to our disappointment…..but also a good sign. I drove along the fence and in the distance I could see the Wildebeest running towards us with the dogs behind them. We just stayed put while they were pursuing an adult wildebeest. It’s amazing how some dogs are trying to get his attention and the rest will try and bite into the prey and get a grip on it to start the weakening process.
The wildebeest got away and they started all over again, they ran away from the fence and fetched a sub-adult wildebeest.

Now they used the vehicles to corner the youngster. What a sight it was. The youngster managed to sneak past the vehicle but the dogs chased it for about 800m down the fence where they took it down on the side of the mountain. For me in a sighting like this you put the technical stuff away and focus on the content of the scene happening next to you and keep it as reminder on what happened. Go and read Gerry’s blog on Heavy weight fight on http://www.photo-africa.com/

Catch you later

Grant