We love sharing news from our NGO partners. Here’s an update on the African wild dog monitoring programme at Somkhanda Game Reserve, by Mark Gerrard, the Threatened Species Coordinator at Wildlands Conservation Trust.
The community run Somkhanda Game Reserve is home to populations of African wild dog as well as white and black rhino. Due to the threatened nature of these species, monitoring is of paramount importance. Therefore, the funds raised through the Different.org platform, as well as the continued efforts of the Wildlife ACT monitoring teams, remain vital to the project’s success.
The Somkhanda wild dog monitoring team have confirmed that there are currently eight pack members on the reserve. The pack consists of five males (two adult and three sub-adult) and three females (one adult and two sub-adults). The two adult males are collared with UHF/SAT collars and the female with a VHF anti-snare collar. All the sub-adults remain uncollared (these are the yearlings from the 2015 litter). Anti-snare collars are structured in a way that, should the animal enter a snare, rivets installed on the base of the collar prevent the wire from closing fatally around an animal’s neck.
In February this year, one of the males was snared in the reserve. He was immediately located by the monitoring team and the local wildlife vet, Dr Mike Toft, was called in to assist. After treatment, the dog was placed in the boma to allow reserve management to monitor his condition and the recovery process. On the 18th March, after being recollared with an UHF (Ultra High Frequency)/GPS collar by the vet, he was released back into the reserve where he promptly rejoined the pack.
During June 2015, the alpha female relocated her den site, moving north. Seven pups were confirmed after they emerged from the den on 18 June 2015. At the end of August, the pack moved the pups via drainage lines into a fairly isolated area. The pups were therefore not seen regularly unless they crossed over into a more open area of the reserve, known as Emvokweni. On the 16th of September the pups left the den and started moving with the pack.
In April 2016, the pack’s social structure started to alter, with the sub-adult males growing in confidence. One sub-adult male has begun scent marking with the alpha male and female of the pack.
During the most recent Wildlife Experience at Somkhanda, guests were given the opportunity to go out with the monitoring team to track the Somkhanda wild dog pack. They were able to experience first-hand how quickly the team needs to move once they find a signal from one of the collars on the dogs in order to catch a sighting. The guests’ excitement on catching just a glimpse of the pack is perhaps an indication of how the threat to the wild dog populations is becoming more recognised.
Login or Register with one of the options below