Hope for African wild dogs
CONSERVATION EXPERTS TRY TO INCREASE NUMBERS OF ENDANGERED SPECIES Success of breeding project depends on a dominant male who has lost part of a leg.
Hopes of reintroducing African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) to the northern part of Kruger National Park rest on the ability of a the three-legged alpha male, Foxtrot, to help his pack thrive.
A regular escapee from Mkuze game reserve in KwaZulu Natal – along with his three siblings – Foxtrot lost his lower left leg in a snare.
“Don’t be worried, he’s doing very well and is the dominant male. He’s not disabled at all,” said bioengineer Antoine Marchal, speaking for the Endangered (EWT).
With only an estimated 350 wild dogs in the park, the critical project, which hopes to boost the species numbers and restore a genetic link to those in Zimbabwe, is being run just outside the Shingwedzi rest camp in the Kruger. The project will allow for genetic diversity and prevent inbreeding.
The idea of reintroducing wild dogs is a first for Kruger.
Kept in a small, high-security plot compared to their normal range of up to 1 000km, the eight animals have been bonding well, Marchal says.
“These dogs arrived on August 1, four males came from Mkuze reserve in KwaZulu Natal and four females came from Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve, also in KZN,” says Marcel.
Because the animals are highly sociable and identify each other by scent and unique markings, the chances of a pack forming were slim. Wildlife Trust
So, while they were still sedated – in another first – they were all rubbed on each other so they could acquire the same scent.
“They woke up thinking they were all from the same pack, so we created a pack in captivity,” Marchal explains, adding the dogs would stay in the boma so they could acclimatise to the dry and dusty Kruger.
“You also don’t want to release them too early, because they might want to go back home.”
The dogs are all problem animals in that they were regular escapees from their former reserves.
Notoriously shy and extremely wide-ranging, exact numbers of the animal have been difficult to pinpoint, which is why it remains listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Data list as endangered.
According to results released by EWT in April, 680 wild dog sightings were submitted for a census conducted between September 24, 2014 and June 15, 2015.
However, due to software issues, the real number has yet to be tallied and the 13 losses of 2016 – due to canine distemper – also need to be factored in.
With an inoculation drive underway, part of the reason Foxtrot’s pack will spend so much time in the boma is to receive their booster shots before release.
It’s not that the wild dog is completely lost to the northern Kruger, either.
Inasmuch as it is a pack animal, it doesn’t accept outsiders easily and there are nomads wandering about – one of which has found Foxtrot and his crew.
“Last week, a very young single female wild dog started visiting them at the fence, so she might change the way things happen on the day of the release,” Marchal said.
“She may integrate into the group, or maybe the group will split, where the dominant male keeps his females one side and the three other males form a new pack with the visitor,” says Marchal.
He’ll be able to monitor the problem, however, as all the dogs have been fitted with radio collars and he’ll be tracking them.
On the face of it, things appear to be going well, with Foxtrot enjoying his position.
“I’ve seen signs of mating [between] the dominant male and female.
“With three legs, it’s not very easy, it’s a bit clumsy,” Marchal says, laughing.