Wild Dogs at AfriCat

The latest on AfriCat's dogs. Although Okonjima is best known for its work with cheetah and leopard, an unexpected request for help in 2005 saw the AfriCat Foundation offer protection to a group of orphaned wild dogs. There is little doubt that the Cape Hunting Dog is one of Namibia’s (and Africa’s) most endangered large carnivores, this is the story so far:

The AfriCat Foundation at Okonjima Lodge in Namibia has recently relocated their 5 Cape Hunting Dogs into a larger encampment near the AfriCat Clinic where they have been raised since rescue. This is wonderful news for all guests visiting the Welfare Project who for the first time will have the opportunity to view these magnificent creatures close-up.

The puppies were found buried in an abandoned warthog hole on a farm where their mother and the rest of their family were killed by the local farmers due to them preying on local livestock. There were originally seven pups handed over to AfriCat (by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism) but due to illness, two didn’t survive. The remaining five were successfully hand-reared by painstakingly feeding them every two hours according to their weight.

BBC1 captured the rescue of the 7 wild dogs on their popular Animal Park – Wild in Africa series, but due to their lack of immunity, no visitors or photographers were allowed close to the pups. Initially the pups were kept in Dave and Carla’s home so as to have them properly supervised, but being wild dogs, they showed keen interest in tearing up and breaking whatever they could find. Subsequently, they were moved over to the AfriCat Clinic and set up home in a cheetah relocation crate until they eventually outgrew that and moved into what they thought was the great outdoors, a humble fenced area outside the clinic.

Due to several donations made by guests at Okonjima Lodge,
Dave at AfriCat was able to build a double fenced area of just over
one acre in size and to the dog’s great delight, he added a waterhole
with a small, but entertaining fountain built within a rock feature. Having a double fence is necessary as wild dogs are susceptible to other canine diseases such as rabies, distemper and the parvo-virus carried by other members of the dog family such as jackals and bat-eared foxes.

The new encampment area introduced the dogs to a larger world than they had ever imagined and when first released, it was clear that they were very excited about their new home. They celebrated noisily as they darted around, experiencing life in the savannah and all it has to offer with its wonderful landscape, long grass, acacia trees and two massive termite mounds which quickly became the centre of their territory. Upon discovering the water hole, the dogs didn’t so much investigate as invade by plunging in without hesitation and played in the water for hours before each found himself a nice quiet place to have an afternoon siesta and enjoy the African sun.

The Future... Once further donations have been made specifically for the wild dogs, they will be moved again to a proposed area of approximately 5 ha which will become their temporary home until they can be relocated and rehabilitated in Okonjima’s private 22 000 ha Game Park. The territory will provide them with a massive protected area in which to hunt and become part of the larger programme at Okonjima.

WILD DOG UPDATE!

July 2009

Okonjima Gears Up for 2010 - If you have visited Okonjima, or better yet, flown over it and looked down, you will know that Okonjima’s property is an island of welfare and conservation in a sea of commercial farmland.

Over the years the boundaries of Okonjima have been pushing outwards to provide the most essential ingredient in predator conservation, natural habitat. Okonjima provides security and time for all sorts of predators to regain their independence and return to the wild. Those that are unable to adapt and require ongoing welfare are given a home for life.

As space is a premium at Okonjima, we are very pleased to report on the development of the new reserve. The 22 000 ha private park fence is going up at a rate of knots with 82 km’s due to be completed by December. This is an extremely high specification fence which will be predator proof as well as monitor lizard, tortoise and pangolin friendly!

Initially the new reserve will be divided into a 16 000 ha park for cheetah rehabilitation and a 4 500 ha park for leopard and hyena tracking. The larger reserve will initially accommodate up to 16 cheetahs providing a much greater variety of tracking opportunities. There will be an area of 2000 ha fenced around the lodges which will be home to general game and provide wildlife viewing opportunities from the lodges.

The AfriCat Wild Dogs - Okonjima became the custodian of a pack of rescued African Wild Dog puppies in May 2005. African Wild Dogs (Lycaon Pictus) are a challenge to keep in captivity and need to be kept free from infectious canine diseases like rabies and distemper. As the puppies were rescued shortly after birth, they were hand raised and became extremely habituated to the AfriCat staff.

The final outcome of choice for all the predators at Okonjima is to be returned to the wilderness. To this end, the AfriCat Foundation staff have decided that it is time to move the Wild Dogs from their current environment and place them in a more isolated section of the reserve. This will hopefully encourage them to revert to natural form and begin hunting their own prey. In the bush, the Wild Dog is one of the most effective pack hunters in Africa but this is a learned behaviour which is alien to Okonjima's pack. So the AfriCat team are both nervous and curious about the months to come.

If all goes well over the next 12 months the Wild Dogs will be released into the new 16 000 ha reserve in mid-2010. Until then, your clients will not have access to them but we will keep you informed of their planned return to the semi-wild.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT

AfriCat's WILD DOGS run free!

9.11 WAS A HAPPY DAY ON OKONJIMA!

Raine (Female), Ricki (Female), Ruby (Female) and our only male Rex (Spot) – run FREE!!!!

In May 2005 - AfriCat received an urgent call from a government conservation officer, concerning 7 wild dog puppies that he had dug out of a hole - for they had been buried alive . . . The rest of the pack was poisoned by communal farmers!

Some of the pups had already died, but he was able to save a few of them and he needed AfriCat to send help as soon as possible. The AfriCat team wasted no time – and left for the north east of the country immediately.

Raising these puppies was the hardest project Carla and Dave have ever tackled. Their eyes were still closed and they had NO immunity. Sadly we lost 2 puppies in the first 2 months – one to a bone disease and the other had a bacterial infection.

Kate Humble & Ben Fogle filmed the first few weeks of the pups lives for Animal Park – a UK TV programme that gave these wild dogs fame from the start!

At 4 months old, the other 5 pups were released into a secure enclosure to stop direct contact with people. The 2 males were vasectomised at 2 years of age – so that there was no chance for them to breed as they were siblings after all, and it is illegal in Namibia to breed with large carnivores that are in captivity.

Rufus, nick-named, ‘Mouse’, died in September 2009. He had developed gastritis and congenital kidney failure. That left Rex, nick-named ‘Spot’, as the only male in the group of siblings.

The group was then moved to a new area – far from human activity, so that they would start adapting to a bigger and more remote area, and also hopefully start forgetting that man is something you walk up to when spotted.

All the pups, were recently vaccinated for Parvo, Rabies & Distemper (distemper vaccine specifically modified for wild dogs as live vaccine kills them)

Our 4 stars are now 5 years old!!!!

They were released on 9. 11. 2010 and this happy day was experienced by all of the guests present on Okonjima. The wild dogs made the characteristic ‘HAPPY’, barking, yelping noise that is always associated with the PAINTED DOG - as they ran around experimenting their new environment! Some of our guests who did not know the character of wild dogs, thought those unique noises were because they were so happy to be free . . . we decided to leave them with that thought, for we are sure that is exactly how they felt!

PS: By the afternoon they had already chased a family of warthogs – who disappeared into an aardvark hole.
The next morning Dave saw them take down their first kill – a kudu female! Instinct still intact after so many years in captivity!

Dave will be on their track most of the day for the next week.

Watch this space...

12 – 20 September 2010: The PAINTED DOG!

It’s been an interesting week and a once in a life-time experience for Dave Houghton (AfriCat rescue & release). AFTER the wild dogs were darted (June 2010) for the radio-collar-fittings and of course a general & final health check and vaccinations done before their release into the 16 000ha Okonjima Reserve, - there was a major change in the dog’s hierarchy when they all recovered from the anaesthetic. Raine was no longer ‘top dog’ and Ricki, formerly the underdog, had usurped Raine’s position. This came as a big surprise to us, but this behaviour has been observed in captive wild dog packs before. Spot, now the only male, immediately stood by Ricki and didn’t leave her side.

From the moment they were released (early Sat morning, 9.11.2010) Dave has followed them, mainly because we had no idea what they would get up to or if they would pose any threat to any humans they come into contact with once released?!

Up until this time they were only in contact with Dave and Carla who kept a close eye on their well-being, for they were moved away from the AfriCat welfare HQ and away from all tourism interaction more than a year ago.

Once released Dave observed them running and running and running some more, exploring every inch of the immediate area around their soft-release camp they had called ‘home’ since the 15th of June 2010. If any of you have studied the ‘painted’ dog or have had the opportunity to observe them in the wild – you will know and understand that a wild dog was built to run – just as a bird was built to fly! They do it with ease and grace and have a unique ‘gate’ – characteristics that have made them one of the most successful predators out there.

We did however think they would take off and that Dave would not be able to keep up, but they tired quickly and after the initial dashing around, calmed down and stayed under a tree for most of the day.

Late that afternoon a group of warthogs walked right into them and there was some major interaction, which Dave has described in detail and with that British wit - in the next AFRICAT NEWSLETTER.

Every morning just after 6am, Dave has been able to find them where he left them the day before. They have not attempted any running or hunting during the night hours, but early mornings and late afternoon – everything that moves is chased, no specie spared!

On their second day of freedom, Dave again spent the morning with them and was completely amazed when he discovered their next attempt at a chase was actually successful. This time they were bringing down a fully grown, female kudu when he eventually caught up with them and they managed to finish her off a lot quicker than he thought they would.

The annoying part was that they didn’t eat much of their first kill. This was probably because they had been fed the day before.

They have been very adventurous and have covered large areas over the past week, which included thick acacia bush veldt & rocky mountainous areas.

They however do seem to enjoy going back to their soft-release enclosure where they obviously feel secure and where they know they will find their favourite water-hole.

Ricky – fractured one of her legs a few years ago, but has not shown the common limp she developed after it healed; in fact she is as strong as her 3 other siblings and doing her bit for the pack as expected.

Their next kill was on Sunday afternoon, the 19th of September – this time AJ found them with an old warthog. (Dave had taken his first well-deserved break). The kill was not witnessed, but AJ found them relaxing under a tree, tummies full and no injuries... so all in all – another successful hunt.

It has been a long and very dry winter, and many of the browsers as well as the warthogs are weaker than usual, but the AfriCat team has had to subsidize their meals a few times already, because they use so much energy chasing every animal they encounter, and mostly always on the run wherever they explore next.

The best news Dave has been able to give us – is the fact that no matter who he has taken out there to walk with him and the dogs, none of them have shown any aggression towards any strange humans that have been in their company. No guests have gone tracking yet, but over the next few days the first VIP guests will get the opportunity to observe the dogs from a game-vehicle, after their morning explorations, as not to disturb any attempted hunting techniques, for they still need to hone in their skills and learn about the dangers out there.

We will keep you updated, but don’t forget to read all about this amazing story in the up and coming AfriCat Newsletter. . . .

Carla Conradie (AfriCat Welfare) has summarised the last five years into one page in the NEXT AFRICAT NEWS LETTER (soon to be released), but if you want to read the stories of the rearing of the wild dogs in more detail, you can access past newsletters on the AfriCat website, www.africat.org:

October 2010

Dave is now only checking on them once a day! He felt that they were turning him into the “alpha female” – and that was not good for the ego!

I am sure they enjoyed the company and felt much more courageous, knowing that Dave was by their side all day, but his presence definitely could have been one of the reasons they were not making more effort to hunt!

It also seems they just won’t give up on their temporary home which was their ‘soft-release, hold-over camp, known as “Alcatraz”. Somehow they feel safe there and keep on returning. In the cheetah-release cases, the gate was immediately closed after a release, but because Wild Dogs always return to a den – we decided to allow them this luxury!

We have noticed however that at times, they are either in ‘Alcatraz’ and the 4 cheetah siblings lie quite comfortably outside the camp – gate open – all very peaceful – or the other way round?

We all did wonder what the relationship would be like once they all met up, but surprisingly enough – much less aggression between dog and cat - than we thought there would be!

Up until now they have killed 2 kudu’s, a very old warthog, a wild donkey (resident in this area for the last 10 to 15 years), a scrub-hare and something else, which we are not sure of for their bellies were full, but there was no evidence to tell the story!?

The warthog-kill in ‘Alcatraz’, was probably because the old male came in for water and was too weak to get away and was restricted within the fenced area – although the gate is always open.

They are exploring more and more without Dave’s presence and watchful eye, which is a wonderful achievement. Discovering the Villa was caught on camera and apparently a hilarious experience observing the 4 siblings nervously seeing themselves in the windows of North Suite, as well as watching their nervous sniffs as they discovered the metal warthogs actually ‘do not charge’.

The DOGS are out and are really coping well!! We are still subsidizing their diet, but they are so adventurous, that they are definitely using more energy than what they are getting back from the few kills they have made!