MY plunge into the world of wild dog conservation took place in 2007, or about 80 articles ago in Zululand Observer terms.
As I leave to head abroad to my wife, I can reflect that with wild dogs, both socially and in their management there, is no easy ride.
In my openly biased opinion this species (apart from actually being evolutionarily entirely unique) is unrivalled among the carnivores in charisma and intrigue.
Anyone, actually most likely everyone who has worked with these creatures, will let out a little gritted-teeth ‘jislaaik’ when thinking about the complexities of trying to conserve this rarest of South African carnivores.
The rarity is a manifestation of many things; high spatial requirements, comparatively higher food requirements when considering other large carnivores, deaths at the teeth of other large carnivores, disease, poacher snares and still, most alarmingly, ignorance and misguided perceptions which often lead to persecution.
The management complexities are based on all of the above, but compounded by a frighteningly fragmented and altered South African landscape and a pervasive, often apathetic approach to responsibility and accountability towards securing one’s own assets (read ‘livestock’ and ‘rare game’).
Freakish, intensively-bred colour morph antelope like woolly blesbok, king wildebeest and black impala all come with exasperating price tags despite being hopelessly reliant on their masters to protect them from the ravages of the African bush.
It is freak-show economics driven by perception and a disturbing lack of appreciation for the supremely fine-tuned, evolutionary characteristics of natural occurring (read ‘common’) wildlife.
Black impala are not going to feed a nation as livestock do, or physically keep an ecosystem functioning as natural wildlife does.
Perception alone drives the extreme prices and presumed intrinsic value. If a small camp of these oddities ensures protection of a larger swathe of conservation land then perhaps an argument can be made for the merit of the practice for conservation; but I won’t debate that here.
Wild dogs, despite there being less than 450 in South Africa (and I am content to say that the many conservation efforts of many people over the past decade appear to have stabilised the population despite the constant threats), only appear to be considered a precious natural asset in South Africa by a small handful of people.
Lack of understanding
It is maddeningly obvious that we in South Africa have a long way to go in the conservation of our natural heritage, in an understanding of how we judge components of biodiversity, in how we value some animals more than others, and in where our collective conservation future lies.
I won’t even begin to tackle the budget, focus and skills crises that are facing many provincial biodiversity conservation bodies and leaving them close to implosion.
I joined my colleague Grant Beverley on an urgent request to ‘remove’ a pack of 18 wild dogs from a 700 hectare property close to Hoedspruit.
The wild dogs were a free roaming pack, part of the greater Kruger system and approximately 4% of the national population.
To the reserve manager’s credit he understood the conservation significance of the species and rather phoned and asked for assistance, fearing for the lives of the few impala on the property.
Efforts to chase the wild dogs off were unsuccessful, and alternative plans were made for physical capture and relocation. These never took off, partly because of the haggling over who would pay for this (the land owner refused to cover any costs to resolve what he perceived as a problem on his land despite the wild dogs being un-owned and naturally free-roaming, and the fact that the pack subsequently moved off the property as they are often likely to do in a small reserve.
What was most alarming in this affair was that the owner of the property, a wealthy businessman, had purchased it without the intention of making a profit, without the intention of harvesting game or setting up a tourism enterprise.
In effect the wild dogs were not eating assets because the game was simply there, living as game does and there was no intention to make an income off them. It was purely that he personally valued impala over wild dogs (despite the fact that when phoned, he was in Kruger National Park looking for, wait for it, wild dogs).
Essentially he had purchased land in the greater Kruger National Park system, but was wholly acidic to the concept that this may involve free-roaming carnivores occasionally entering the property.
Logistical challenges
The pressure on the manager to just ‘deal with the situation’ or to ‘get rid of the wild dogs’ showed an extreme lack of awareness and an unwillingness to understand the rarity of the species, its precarious conservation status and the real logistical challenges of capturing 18 wild dogs in relatively thick Lowveld bush.
That particular 700 hectares could be an important piece of contiguous land within the much-portioned greater Kruger system. It is now another property which supports carnivore conservation in principle, but ‘over there in Kruger’.
Realistically, 700 isolated hectares alone is not going to play a long-term role in sustaining wild dogs, and there are genuine pressures placed on such small prey populations.
But when that attitude is reflected across more properties of greater sizes which occur in these large ecological systems, the collective, isolationist ‘not in my backyard’ approach is an insidious and concerning trend on what little land is left for conservation.
What it does also do is highlight the increasing significance of carnivore tolerant (or actively pro-carnivore) game reserves, conservancies, community protected areas and game farms in wildlife management clusters such as the greater Kruger system, northern KwaZulu-Natal and the Waterberg in Limpopo Province.
Fast forward a week, and a stop in the Waterberg reserve of Lapalala, near to what appears to be the imitation medieval castle Mecca of South Africa, Vaalwater, was a relief in attitude.
Whilst there are most certainly reserves in the district which also subscribe to the ‘not in my backyard’ and the slightly more uncompromising ‘not on my planet’ philosophies, there are others that recognise the perils which face large carnivores, and are pragmatic and open-minded enough to realise that transient animals will not decimate their natural prey stock to a point of bankruptcy, and that without these refuges, the carnivores will head towards localised extirpation.
Lapalala’s willingness to cooperate with any aspect of wild dog management, regular liaison, excitement at the fantastic spatial data which is being generated by a satellite collar on a free-roaming pack in the district is all refreshingly encouraging. Similar cooperation from reserves like Marakele National Park and Marakele Pty (Ltd) really does give us hope that wild dogs will continue to persist in that landscape despite the sporadic persecution.
For those of you heading out to reserves for the holidays, we urge you to make every effort to work towards a wild dog sighting; spread the word and let people know it’s what you want to see. It is very rarely a dull affair. If you are social media inclined, it’s worthwhile following twitter groups like Latest HiP, KNP Wild Dogs, Kruger Sightings, EWT-Carnivores and WildlifeACT.
For those of you who prefer a more traditional search, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Wild Dog population is sitting at about 90 individuals (including about 30 pups), the Mkhuze population (where lions have just recently been reintroduced) is 17 (including 11 pups), Zimanga and Tembe both have stable populations, the Khamab pack has unfortunately crashed from 25 to 23 as a result of a disease outbreak, but Madikwe has more than 40 wild dogs and Pilanesberg a pack of 14.
Safe travels.
Viva the wild dogs, viva!
• Find more wild dog information at www.wagsa.org.za. The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s National Wild Dog Metapopulation Project is generously supported by Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, Land Rover Centurion, Investec, GCCL² and Painted Wolf Wines and in KZN is carried out through collaboration with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, WildlifeACT, Wildlands Conservation Trust and the participants within the KZN Wild Dog Advisory Group and the Wild Dog Advisory Group of South Africa.
If any readers observe Wild Dogs outside of protected areas, please note the location of the sighting, whether the animal is wearing a tracking collar and identify, or ideally, photograph any characteristic markings. Please notify Brendan Whittington-Jones on 072 992 9483. From 3 January 2014 please notify David Marneweck on 082 4481721.
