Wild Dogs

Resting my right arm against the warm metal of the rickety open vehicle, I shift from side to side to relieve the numbness from my bum as Paula tries the telemetry for the umpteenth time. Beep. Beep. Beep. We hope!

We are monitoring wild dogs in Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZuluNatal, South Africa. These stunningly beautiful endangered creatures are having a hard time. Four wild females were introduced to Tembe with four captive bread males. Lions, it seems, killed the males. The females retreated deeper into the rare sand forest and the race was on to find wild males that would have the skills to deal with lion, and get the permission to move them. Politics moved at its deadly slow pace, and by the time permission was granted the females were undetectable. Had they, we feared, gone out of the park into bordering Mozambique?

One quiet day we watched the release of the four males. Two minutes later they were gone! Day after day we searched the bush, hoping desperately that the groups would meet before the females left the reserve. 

Fast forward. We get a signal for all six remaining dogs. Jubilation and relief sweeps through us palpably. And they are very close. They move deeper into sand forest. We wait, thinking they have made a kill.

The sounds are wonderful., bird song varied and sweet, lion contact calls penetrate us from two directions, an impala alarm call pierces our senses. The occasional hadeda, an ibis with a raucous call, passes over. Insect sounds fill the air with buzzes and chirps. The sand is dark and almost luminous from the rain, the sun coming from behind us with the sky of clouds gently shifting. The air is warm and soft, the smells delicious: warm earth, the honey-tree smell, a pungent lingering aroma of wild dog, all distinct yet mingling. The dogs do not appear.

Our patience is rewarded. On our last afternoon we head out to where we had seen five of the pack that morning. We were anxious about the sixth, fearing he had been taken by lion. The fragility of the pack and the species were our constant and growing concerns. 

The beeps are loud. Suddenly all six emerge from the sand forest, loping in the late afternoon sun, moving around us, stopping from time to time to look at us. Exploring around us,  nudging each other, the sun picks out their glorious golden and white splashes of fur against the dark.

Late afternoon moves on, two dogs run passed looking up, catching a glimpse of eye looking right at me, my heart leaps. 

Then, amazingly, the alpha pair mate. Utterly joyous, moved at them so relaxed with us, touched by the nervous not-so-accurate first attempts of the male. Hearts full we drink in the our experience and feel honoured at being present at this most precious time in their lives, the hope for the future of the pack, and their species.

I volunteered with Wild Life Act (www.wildlifeact.com), an organisation I found had great integrity in working for wildlife. We stayed in pretty and simple wooden cabins. Food was basic, except some wonderful brais (BBQ); South Africans are experts, and the range of meat included kudu and impala sausage, both very tasty. Star studied skies helped! 

We drove on very basic open vehicles, setting out before dawn and again in the late afternoon while most animals are active. Some of the dogs had GPS collars so we used telemetry to track them. 

Tembe is also home to big tuskers, and if you are lucky and Leonard, who lovingly and skillfully monitors the elephants contributing to their wellbeing and survival, is there you may also go out in the afternoon to watch elephants, But thats another story.....

All the researchers working with volunteers were very generous in sharing their knowledge. 

Tembe also has good quality bush accommodation in a traditional bush lodge. Warm hospitality is shown by the Tembe community who manage the lodge. www.tembe.co.za

Cpoyright Paulina Slater                paulinawildheart@gmail.com             0787 650 7864

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