Photos of Wild Dogs by Yvonne van der Mey

These predators are both admired and hated at the same time. They are admired for their well organized and social way in which they live and hunt, and they are hated mainly because of the way they catch their prey. Wild Dogs are great long distance runners that can reach speeds between 40 to 60 km's an hour. They get their prey by chasing the animal until it's exhausted, and then the whole pack brings it down with well-organised moves.

To humans, it looks very harsh and fierce that they start to eat the prey while it is still alive, and don't kill it first like a lion does. On the other hand, it doesn't take more than a few seconds before the prey is dead because of the pack numbers, but yes, it doesn't look nice. In my opinion however, this is NO REASON to hunt, trap or to poison them. This is how Nature created them, and this is what humans need to respect and accept. Wild Dogs are protected and have been on the CITES List of Endangered Animals for a while now, as their numbers have dropped dramatically, mainly because they are killed illegally.

Wild Dog packs can be made up of about 10 to 30 individuals, and like wolves, are led by a dominant male and female, and again like wolves, only this couple will produce cubs. To ensure that these cubs are raised, there are always one or two high-ranking females that have a phantom-pregnancy, which means that they are able to produce milk within a short time and step in should the mother of the cubs die.

Each and every Wild Dog has one or more white markings on its body, which are as unique as fingerprints. This makes it a bit easier to keep a close eye on them. You also can't miss a Wild Dog's huge ears; their hearing is excellent. Most people visiting Africa will not encounter Wild Dogs because they are rare and prefer to avoid people. I have been very lucky to meet various packs on different occassions at several places. Each and every encounter was memorable.

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