August 2008 : Sabi Sand Reserve

Making international conservation news over the last few months has been a pack of the highly endangered Cape hunting Dogs / Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) that have been viewed at Singita as they settled at a den site on part of our property and the Alpha female gave birth to five playful pups! The pack of four adults are now collectively rearing this rare litter.

Wild Dogs are classified in the same family as wolves, foxes, jackals and the domestic dog but they are the only species in the genus Lycaon. They have large rounded ears, a black muzzle, long legs, and broad, bushy white-tipped tails. The colour and pattern of the African Wild Dog’s coat is dramatic and unmistakable - each has a unique pattern of yellow, black, white and gray splotches covering its body, and this is what gives the dogs another of their common names: the Painted Hunting Dog. The scientific name of the African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus, means ornate or painted wolf!

They weigh up to 36 kilograms (79 pounds), and in the wild their life span is suggested to be around 10 years (although this might be an optimistic figure, as the average may be a low as 3 years!!).

Frightening estimates suggest that if the current plight of the African Wild Dogs continue as they have done in the past, that they could be extinct in the wild within 10 to 30 years. The reasons for their decline include:

• People confuse Wild Dogs with feral, domestic dogs and shoot, trap or poison them, considering them as vermin, especially livestock owners, as the dogs might attack and kill their stock. (As would
any suitably sized natural predator that encounters what would be easy prey)
• Diseases like rabies, distemper and anthrax (often from domestic dogs) kill entire packs.
• Other predators sometimes kill the Wild Dog pups or may dispossess them from of their recently killed prey.
• Automobiles kill many Wild Dogs, especially around national parks and reserves, as their vastly nomadic habits often take them beyond the boundaries of “protected” areas. They are also the target of much malignment based primarily on unfounded beliefs about the Wild Dogs’ “murderous” nature, similar to beliefs long held about wolves, coyotes or foxes in North America.
• Possibly the single most devastating contributor to the decline in their populations is due mostly to habitat loss and fragmentation.

The hunting attempts of African Wild Dogs are successful 70 to 90% of the time. This is a spectacular success rate compared to most predators (who generally sit at around 30%). The pack we see have killed impala, duiker and steenbok. The photograph alongside shows the decapitated head of a steenbok held in the Wild Dog’s mouth.

African Wild Dogs live in packs comprising several related males and from one to several related females (the females are usually unrelated to the males). There are separate male and female dominance hierarchies, and in most cases only the alpha male and female breed. The alpha female may urinate over any spot an estrous female urinates on, thereby covering the other’s scent.

When the dominant female becomes pregnant, she selects a pre-existing den, such as the abandoned hole within a termite mound (as is the case at the Singita site). Gestation is about 70 days, and a typical litter size is seven to 10. The pups are blind and helpless at birth, and weigh less than half a kilogram (14 ounces). Initially the mother stayed in the den with her pups, and the rest of the pack fed her via regurgitated meat.

It has been such a privilege to watch the pups grow. At about three weeks they began to venture out of the den, and soon started to eat the regurgitated meat offered by the adults. They were weaned at about 10 weeks and one of the most awesome sights was to watch the pack returning full-bellied from a hunt and see the pups run out to meet and greet them, and induce the adults to regurgitate. They’re about 3.5 months old now and accompany the adults when they leave to hunt. Soon they’ll abandon their den site altogether and take up a nomadic existence. The pups will not be skilled hunters until they are over a year.

Female African Wild Dogs leave their natal pack when they are between 14 to 30 months old. All females in a litter disperse from the pack together. Only about half of the young adult males disperse (also as a group), while the rest remain in their natal pack for life forming a core group of fathers, uncles and brothers. A new pack forms when a group of sisters from one originating pack meets a group of brothers from another.

African Wild Dogs have ranges that may cover up to 1 500 square km (579 square miles) The exception is when the pack has very young pups which is why we have been so lucky to have regular sightings of the dogs recently.

While many other pack-living canids can adapt to living alone, African Wild Dogs are truly lost without each other. A pack will search relentlessly for a lost member, crying out with a peculiar bell-like hoot and listening for lonely hoots in return. Their basic instinct to stay together is strong, but training supplements instinct from an early age. Returning hunters growl and snap at single pups attempting to beg food - only pups that beg as a group get fed. Adults may also threaten pups that wander away, scaring them into running back to the pack for protection!
African Wild Dogs have a rare trait - good manners when it comes to feeding! The scene at a kill is polite and orderly, with pups eating first while the adults fend off scavengers. They frequently use ritualized gestures of appeasement to prevent any serious fighting. If you have a pet dog you’ll instantly recognize the whining, tail-wagging and rolling over to expose the belly behaviour.

To end their night or midday rest and prepare for the hunt, an African Wild Dog pack engages in an elaborate ritual known as “the meet.” The meet begins when a few individuals get up from their resting places and approach others, sniffing them and licking their muzzles. As activity increases, juveniles begin to run about, begging food and emitting twittering, bird-like calls. Soon, all the dogs get up and greet one another. As the meet continues, the dogs become very excited, bouncing and leaping at one another. There is much play-fighting, with dogs rearing up to paw at each other or trying to push others onto the ground. Finally, when the whole pack fully engages in group activity, it runs off to begin the hunt!

The Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo)
By Shelley Pope; Field Guide

Mongeese, Mongooses, Mongii, Mongaggle…???
“What is the name for a group of mongoose” I asked myself as I curiously watched at least 20 Banded Mongoose forage through the leaf litter outside my room. It is in fact mongooses!

There are eight different species of mongoose in Africa including the Suricate (Meerkat) and each occupies a different niche. The banded mongoose are medium-sized and found in wooded savanna habitats where there is an abundance of termite mounds. These mounds of soil with a maze of channels form a secure home to rest in during the night. In the mornings one banded mongoose will cautiously poke its head out to inspect for any danger before the entire colony follows suit. They bask in the early rays of sunshine to warm up, then are eager to seek out an array of different food sources such as beetles, ants, crickets, termites, spiders and one of their favourites – scorpions. Invertebrates are their primary prey however they will also dig for and quickly catch mice, toads, nestling birds and eggs, snakes and lizards. Large millipedes, beetles, dung balls, snails and large eggs may be smashed by catapulting them between the hind legs and against something hard before being able to consume the desired morsel.

These gregarious mongooses, with distinctive stripes traversing over their backs, form the largest groups of all carnivores. Colonies may contain anywhere from 6 to 40 individuals with 3 to 4 breeding females. There is probably a most dominant male and female pair who has leadership and inhibit the more low-ranking adults’ abilities to reproduce. Age and traits such as temperament contribute to the rank held, and babysitters are used to watch over the young while the adults and parents are out feeding. Reproduction is synchronized within a colony so that most births occur during the rains and then the young may also be suckled communally in the same way that lions do.

Group cohesion is maintained through mutual scent-marking, social grooming and vocalization. It is a clever strategy to live in such large numbers for protection and to help ensure the colonies survival. When attacked by a predator they warn one another by chirping and will usually run to shelter. However they sometimes use a collective defense, appearing as a single large and relentless adversary, approaching their predator as a mob. This intimidation is so impressive that even animals as formidable as servals, jackals, eagles, herons and vultures will often back down!

I could have sat and watched these amusing sociable mammals for hours as they investigated every corner, interacted with one another and were always on high alert. Perhaps this colony will make a territory of my residence and pay regular visits?

The model Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii)

The word Nyala means ‘onion’ in the local Shangaan language, (a reference to the stripy coat) but these onions do not cause any tears! They are the lovers not the fighters of the bush when it comes to recruiting females for amorous action!

To begin with the male looks very flamboyant compared to the female. He is bigger, has loosely spiraled horns and a long fringe on his throat and underparts, neck and back. The female has no horns and no noticeable fringe. The male is dark brown, has a white band on his face, vertical white stripes on the body and attractive yellow legs! The female is chestnut with clear striping.

When the male wants to intimidate a rival male or and/or attract a female he does not engage in horn-to-horn combat. Instead he erects the hairs of his shaggy mane so that they stand upright (pilo-erection) on his back and tail. This makes him look bigger and more impressive than before (see the photographs). In addition to this he struts in an exaggerated slow-motion way like a model in a photo-shoot. All this display is bound to, in theory, dispel intruding males and melt the hearts of the female Nyala so that mating opportunities may be won…

Did you know?
Singita’s traversing area in the Sabi Sand is 18,000 hectares, which is equal to 45,000 acres or 180 km².

Interview with Field Guide, Frank Ndlovu

Q: Where and when were you born?
A: I am 44 years of age and my birthday is on the 20th of February. I am from Delani Ka-Shorty Village, Bushbuckrigde North.

Q: When did you join Singita?
A: I came to Singita in 1999. Before that I was a volunteer of the Bushbuckridge Health and Social Services Consortium, which was in charge of giving information to people about awareness of HIV/AIDS and the development of human beings. I was also a chairperson of Delani Water Committee that was in charge for installing pipelines for water reticulation for the village.

Q: What animal would you choose to be and why?
A: I would like to be an elephant, because this animal is always doing something.

Q: If money were not an option what would you do?
A: I would build a mansion for my family and also donate to those who are affected by HIV/AIDS and TB. I will also build the so-called Youth Convention Centre where they will meet every weekend in order to be educated about the demerits of smoking, drugs, alcohol, HIV/AIDS and teenage marriages.

Q: Choose four people to take on a game drive with you…
A: (1) Nelson Mandela (The first African President of SA). (2) US President, George W. Bush. (3) Zimbabwe’s stone-headed and conservative President, Robert Mugabe. (4) F.W. de Klerk, (The former President of SA).

Q: What is your favourite food?
A: Breakfast: A little yogurt, two slices of bread, cornflakes and a cup of tea. Lunch: Salad, rice and beef/chicken. Supper: Little porridge/puddy with shebo and chicken/traditional boerewors.

Q: You know you’re in Africa when…?
A: When I hear the National Anthem.

Q: What would you be if you weren’t a first-class Field Guide?
A: I would be a first-class educator/teacher in the field of education.

Q: Your favourite sighting in the last two weeks has been…?
A: The Wild Dog den site!

Wilderness
Ian McCallum

Have we forgotten that wilderness is not a place,
but a pattern of soul where every tree, every bird and beast is a soul maker?

Have we forgotten that wilderness is not a place,
but a moving feast of stars, footprints, scales and beginnings?

Since when did we become afraid of the night
and that only the bright stars count?
Or that our moon is not a moon unless it is full?

By whose command were the animals
through groping fingers one for each hand,
reduced to the big and little five?

Have we forgotten that every creature is within us
carried by the tides of Earthly blood
and that we named them?

Have we forgotten that wilderness is not a place,
but a season and that we are in its final hour?

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Entry by Jenny Hishin
Singita Sabi Sand
Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve
South Africa
Thirty-first of August 2008