WILD DOGS!
I may look nice, but trust me, I am not nice.
In my previous Africa trip, the seeing of a pack of wild dogs on my very last game drive was a highlight of the entire trip. They are very rare, even in Krueger. (Less than 10 packs in an area the size of New Jersey.) The highlight aspect is the rarity, not the “prettiness” of them. They are trained killers with the highest success rate of all the predators here. More than lions, leopards, you name it. And they kill in not so nice ways. Essentially ripping the prey apart alive. When they hunt, they spread out across a wide area, similar to what a human search party would do. Maybe 50′ apart, they move across the area covering a huge slice of it. When they see a potential victim, they all work together to achieve the result.
This group was spotted during my first Londolozi reserve drive. They did not look as fearful as what I remember, but that may be due to the presence of babies. Also, unlike the previous sighting these guys were not radio collared. The tracking program is to try to understand them better and to help bring back their numbers as they are quite endangered outside of places like Krueger.
A quick rest stop before the evening hunt.
A few young dogs horsing around before the hunt.
The hunt begins!
Another glorious African sunset.