The African painted dog is a gregarious canine species that lives in closely knit packs. There’s an alpha pair who lead the pack and the rest of the dogs have a tightly woven bond which is evident in their co-operative breeding habits. The entire family is involved in rearing the young pups. This nomadic species remains sedentary for 3 months of the year while the pups mature into adulthood.
It’s a delight to watch a tight nuclear family unit helping to rear their young in the wild. 4 – 5 months ago, nThambo Tree Camp and Africa on Foot guests found a wild dog den site and observed incredible interactions between the pups and the alpha pair. If you recall, we posted plenty of videos and blog posts of the wild dog den area where the dogs based themselves for 3 months. During this period of time we knew exactly where the dogs were located and were able to show guests the roles the dogs play in their familial group.
Wild dogs time their denning period with the end of the impala rutting season. This is when the rams are exhausted and stressed, which means their defences are down and they become an easy target for our ravenous carnivorous dogs. The denning period is generally between May – July and this is when we enjoyed prolific wild dog sightings.
When the cubs are 2.5 – 3 months old they leave the den site. If their domicile comes under threat from predators, they will move their den site. After the pups are old enough, the pack will resume their natural nomadic tendencies. The denning period is the best time to see the wild dogs. Their whereabouts are a bit more predictable !
When the pups reached the age of wandering, the wild dogs disappeared and we barely saw the dogs. Being fast moving, nomadic dogs made it difficult for us to locate them. They have been known to occupy a wide range and follow herds across an expansive area. Lions are their major competition and they are far more territorial; which means they attack approaching dogs.
3 weeks ago we were incredibly lucky and spotted the “local” pack from a few months ago on a kill. The pups appear to be in good condition and are proving to be fearless hunters. Over the weekend we spotted the entire pack with pups. They were greeting one another, drinking from the dam and appeared to be quite relaxed. For now, they appear to be in our turf again. But who knows what next week will bring? Hopefully they’ll hang around for a while.
The African wild dog is Africa’s most endangered carnivore and they’re in grave danger of becoming extinct. We certainly have been lucky with our wild dog sightings over the past 2 – 3 weeks !
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