NCA - Wild Dog Photos
 

I thought some of you would enjoy the photos that I took of the wild dogs while camping in the northern NCA last month. The pack consisted of three females and two males. One of the females likely had young pups in a den as she spent most of her time underground and only came out to greet the pack after they returned from hunts. I was in the area for four nights and was fortunate enough to observe the dogs go about their daily business every day. Not sure if it's normal wild dog behaviour or unique just to this pack but I was surprised that they were so playful - they spent considerable time chasing, wrestling and playing tug-o-war. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lisa.yam...ey=r5FiL1x2xKQ

OK where is NCA?
Marvelous to see photos of wild dog at any time. They are remarkably playful!
I am surprised that you say they had pups at this time of year, were you given any clue as to how old they were.

I saw on the website NCA is Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Pups now? That seems very early. Great, active shots.

Thanks for sharing! Great to see a pack of dog anywhere - there are so few left and this is good news for Tanzania. Now hopefully, they can keep on running wild!!!

Cheers
Hari

I have now had time to look at all of your pictures, I think what were described to you as pups are probably from last year so they would be almost a year old.
It must be really pleasing to everybody to see the increasing evidence of the return of Wild Dog to these areas after all the problems with distemper etc.
You are a very priviliged person.

Ley, thanks for sharing! Dogs are always wonderful to see.

Why would it be too early for pups? Richard D. Estes says there’s a birth peak during and after the rainy season and one dog looks like she’s lactating and is dirty from coming up from the den.

Wow, what a remarkable experience and great fortune! Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos.

Peak for wild dog denning in the Serengeti is February to May, unfortunately there are so few dogs in the area any more that I think we all relate to the typical denning times that happen in southern Africa and even southern Tanzania. It is thought that wild dogs time their birthing to maximize a static prey base since they are tied to a den. In most areas that means the dry season as water dries up making ungulates concentrate at reliable sources. In the Serengeti it is February to May as the large herds tend to concentrate in the short grass southern area.

If the dominant female was below ground fequently including not going on hunts than there are likely pups that are less than 4 weeks old, after that they will begin coming out of the den. Also, I agree with Nyamera it looks like she is lactating.

I assume this site is near the Loliondo Concession. A pack had denned the last two years in the Piyaya area near Suyan Camp in Loliondo close to the NCA. I hoped to see them in February but the pack of 14 was missing and a new pack of 8 was forming. I would guess this pack denning has either females or males from that old pack of 14. There was also a pack in the north of the concession of 22 (I think) that were tragically poisoned about 6 months ago. I'm ecstatic to hear there is another den this year and I hope they get some recruitment out of this litter as a pack of 5 is still very small.

You're right, Nyamera. The one female looked like she was lactating and had a dirty coat from spending most of her time underground. On a couple of occassions, I saw her accompany the others dogs as they left to hunt, but only after a few hundred metres she would immediately turn around and return to her den. The local Maasai that we hired as a guide for the duration of our stay in the vicinity guessed that that female had very young pups. I took a GPS coordinate near the den and a guide from the safari company that I used will be in the area this week and plans make a quick stop there to see if he can get a glimpse of the pups. I'll let you know if he sees anything.

Thank you ley for posting the photos. I hope I'm as lucky when I'm in the NCA next February.

Hi ley - I don't know if this is a taboo question or not so forgive me if I shouldn't ask, but I will be in the area in a few weeks and was wondering if you would share the GPS coordinates with me so we could try to see the dogs as well. If you don't want to post it, but don't mind sending, my email is annkowens at comcast dot net. Thanks, Ann

Great pics, thanks for sharing

Hi ley

thanks for your report & pics

<b> can you be more specific than <i>&quot;northern NCA&quot;</i> ? </b>

aby