At the end of 2014, the Gumbi Community made history by being the first community-owned game reserve in South Africa to introduce a pack of endangered African wild dog onto their land. Less than a year later the pack’s sustainability has been established when the alpha female gave birth to the pack’s first litter earlier this week.
The pack’s journey has not been easy as both success and tragedy have marked their introduction into the area. After establishing their hierarchy, the previous alpha female (the dominant female who leads the pack) was caught in a snare. Although this snare was not set specifically for wild dogs, but rather to target small antelope for subsistence poaching of meat, unfortunately wild dogs are particularly susceptible to snaring as they cover large areas when hunting and also fan out as a pack, thus increasing the likelihood of encountering such a snare. Through the efforts of the monitoring team she was found first thing in the morning but unfortunately the snare had killed her.
Shortly after this incident, there was confusion in the pack as hierarchy was once again contested. During this period, one of the lower ranked females left the pack briefly and was caught and killed by a leopard.
These two fatalities have left the pack extremely vulnerable, with only a single female left with the two males. However, the incidents have resulted in a stabilisation in the pack dynamics. It was with great excitement that the new alpha pair were seen mating and, several weeks later, the female was seen inspecting warthog burrows around the reserve. She eventually settled on one near a drainage line which offered good cover and soft soil in which to dig. Wild dogs gestate for just under two and a half months and when the monitors noticed her spending more time at the den site and less on the hunt, the excitement grew. Over the weekend of the 16th of May, Axel Primmer, the wild dog monitor from Wildlife ACT Fund, noticed her to be visibly thinner and also heard chirping noises coming from the den itself. “She had been venturing out with the males less frequently, relying more heavily on regurgitation from the males for food,” commented Axel.
“This is an extremely happy time for the reserve and the painted dogs of Somkhanda,” stated Nkosinathi Mbhele, Reserve Manager. “With the introduction and success of this pack of African wild dog, Somkhanda and the Gumbi community are contributing significantly to wild dog conservation in the country, not only increasing the number of wild dog in the country, but more importantly increasing available habitat for, and pack numbers of, this endangered species,” commented Mark Gerrard, Wildlands’ Threatened Species Coordinator.
In partnership with the Wildlands Conservation Trust, Different.org is running a project to help fund the Wild Dog and Rhino Monitoring Project on Somkhanda Game Reserve for 2016. Go visit the project page to see funding and project updates.
Login or Register with one of the options below