Saving our very vocal wild dogs
Supported by the Human Elephant Foundation, the Sunday Tribune Game Changers series gives voice to people in Kwazulu-natal who are making this world a better place for nature and people. Every week we will publish a profile of a person deserving recogniti
WHEN Cole du Plessis sees a flash of mottled colour in the bush, or hears “yipping” and “twittering”, he is delighted.
“Wild dogs are very emotional animals and use their sounds as a body language to express that,” he says. “What I love most about them is their vocalising. It translates their happy nature and strong bond within the pack, where just being together gives them something to celebrate.”
Wild dog pups will happily entertain themselves – jump up and grab a hanging leaf, play with an old carcass or even a camera forgotten on the ground. The adults chase elephant, giraffe or hippo, but Du Plessis believes they are not hunting them, but merely embracing life and having fun.
Du Plessis, who was born in Port Shepstone, was sent at the age of six by his mother to a pottery course. “A hobby I was certainly never good at,” he laughs.
As fortune had it, his pottery teacher’s husband, Alex Muller, who worked for the then Natal Parks Board, saw a different kind of clay to be moulded – the young Du Plessis had a passion for wildlife. Muller took him and his own son on snare patrols and emergency call-outs for animals needing attention.
Du Plessis’s parents took him on holiday to Zululand game reserves. “umkhuze was the first one I visited. I had no idea back then I would one day be working there,” he said.
After completing a natural science degree at Rhodes University, he moved to the Kruger National Game Park area to train as a guide, but realised his heart lay in conservation. He landed a job with Wildlife Act in the umkhuze section of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park.
Snaring was prevalent, so he was tasked with monitoring the dogs. He created a bond with them, which lead to interactions that he will never forget. “A highlight was when the pack started leaving the pups with my vehicle while they ventured off to hunt,” he says.
Within the pack was one he adored. “Her nickname was Lihle (having a beautiful nature) and she had lost one leg to a snare. She was often nominated to stay at the den when the other adults were hunting and reared all the pups as though they were her offspring. Eventually, she had a litter of her own.
“She was an inspiration to watch: having only three legs, but dealing with the daily threats and challenges of the bush – while raising her own litter and maintaining a positive atmosphere in the pack,” says Du Plessis. Lihle has since died, but he paid her the tribute of naming his adopted pup after her. Within two-anda-half years, wild dog numbers in umkhuze grew from six to 40. Du Plessis came to know their individual personalities, but it was time for him to leave. He moved to Australia to do his MSC, but the love of the African bush drew him back.
He now lives in Hluhluweimfolozi Game Reserve, where he works as a senior field officer for the Endangered Wildlife Trust. His brief is far-reaching. A highlight for him has been coordinating the task of reintroducing wild dogs into the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, where wild dogs were wiped out during the 16-year civil war.
A lowlight was losing one of Kwazulu-natal’s wild dog packs to the canine distemper virus.
“This is a long and painful death and it illustrates how vulnerable this species is to extinction. Human growth and expansion places ever more pressure on them. There are now only 611 wild dogs left in country. They are South Africa’s most endangered carnivore and the second-most endangered in Africa.”
At present, there are 26 dogs waiting for homes on game reserves. “Some reserves are reluctant to have them because they are management intensive. There is also a misconception that they eat a lot more than they do, so they are viewed as being financially draining. They do not draw tourist attention like the Big Five, so they are not regarded as ‘money makers’. Some people even still believe they are rabid domestic dogs gone wild.”
His suggestion to overcome this is simple: “If guest experiences are dampened by non-existent wild dog sightings, then reserves may be willing to introduce a pack of wild dogs, whether it be for conservation value or tourism. So, if we can persuade people to set a high store in sightings, the dogs can get a chance to thrive in their natural environment.”