|
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.
<< back to top |
