Wild Dogs in the Waterberg
We recently had an opportunity to support the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in one of their critical carnivore programme — the South African Wild Dog
This species faces more than its fair share of threats and all too often gets passed by in favour of some of the more iconic species of the African Bush.
We have become fascinated by the wild dogs and their particular challenges and so were delighted to have the opportunity to play a small part in the future of one particular pack — that happen to be in one of our favourite parts of the country — the Waterberg.
This pack — we believe there to be between 10 and 14 dogs in it — is quite special as they are completely free roaming — i.e. not within a national conservancy. Their gene pool is completely different to the dogs in (for example) the Kruger Park and that is an important fact when it comes to ensuring the future of a species, diversity is an important criteria for success.
However they face some big challenges being in this region.
The Waterberg has a lot of Private Game Farms and lodges, it’s one of the few areas in Africa generally where people actually own game. That means that every animal owned by a game farmer or reserve owner is an asset. Whether they realise value through game drives, sale or hunts, each one carries a financial cost and expected return.
Wild Dogs don’t appreciate this, they just want to survive. A Kudu is just a Kudu to them and they have very healthy appetites. Game owners don’t necessarily appreciate having their stock plundered by passing packs, some will retaliate in the strongest way and shoot or poison the dogs. Farmers of domestic livestock also see the dogs as a threat to their livelihoods, So animal and human do not get along that well.
Attitudes to the arrival of a pack of wild dogs means excitement and opportunity for some, nuisance and cost to others. This is an animal that is classed as both endangered and pest.
Putting a collar on one or two members of the pack is a vital step in dealing with human — animal conflict and — hopefully — keeping the pack alive. It’s pretty hard to protect animal or property if you can’t locate the subject of concern.
In the past it would have been pretty hard to keep everyone informed. Now it’s a collar and a What’s App group that is key to the fate of this particular pack. That plus the ability of a diverse group of stakeholders to find acceptable compromise. Probably the hardest part of all.
If you could keep the dogs on land owned by those who welcome them life would be much easier. But they go where the food is plentiful and have no ability to distinguish between the friendly and the hostile.
Already, in the week that two have been collared we have seen them at risk because they settled for a while somewhere they were not at all welcome. Thanks to the ability to track them and a generally positive network of stakeholders actively engaging in the discussion, the EWT now has the chance to implement measures that increase the chances for this fascinating animal and also help the humans sharing the land to minimise their risks.
We will be following the story regularly and sharing more insights as they develop. We very much want these dogs to have the best possible chances of survival in this beautiful region.
For more information on the EWT — or even to make a contribution to their amazing efforts, see their web site: https://www.ewt.org.za//index.html
