{"id":53,"date":"2025-12-24T14:27:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T14:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darkblue-chinchilla-695648.hostingersite.com\/?page_id=53"},"modified":"2026-09-29T14:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:12:22","slug":"day-one-african-wild-dogs-and-pangolin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thissafariisjustthebeginning.com\/?page_id=53","title":{"rendered":"African Painted Wolf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

These animals pull me like a magnet. The safari’s conservation and research work around them was a major factor in my decision to come to the Khamab Kalarhari conservation reserve and Working With Wildlife<\/a>. They are stunning. Their behaviors and social structure are fascinating. They are Africa’s second most endangered carnivore but don’t get a lot of attention in books or media, except as bad characters maybe (like hyenas, which they are sometimes confused with, ironically.) Like the local opossums, I want to change the perception of these creatures, for they are amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wild dog or painted wolf?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This species is known by a lot of names, including African wild dog, African Hunting Dog, Wild Dog, and Painted Wolf. (BBC Earth wrote a great article <\/a>on the name after they were asked about it after releasing Dynasties.) Their scientific name is Lycaon pictus, which translates directly as painted wolf. Their behaviors and their evolutionary development also makes the term wolf more suitable. There is also the confusion with the term dog, which is a domestic animal. Many people think these animals are street dogs that went feral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while they are called both dog and wolf, they are a separate species from a separate genus.<\/a> Lycaon pictus split from the genus Canis, which includes wolves, dogs, jackals, coyotes, and even Ethiopian wolves, about 3.9 million years. They are the only surviving members of the Lycaon genus. Further, the painted wolf were genetically isolated with no cross-breeding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wild dog project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned in the Conservation Lessons post, habitat loss is the leading issue of species survival. It’s not just the land itself, though space is crucial; it is land not fractured through human development, and provides water and food. The project’s goal is to determine range and resources African wild dogs require. This involves capturing ongoing data to track pack movements and consumption habits. The study also gives insight on the predator to prey ratio that is a healthy balance and can support a pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involves checking on the dogs daily and recording their current body condition. We know where the dogs are because one is collared with a GPS tag that provides coordinates. Without this, it is impossible. Since wild dogs do not ambush, they don’t care about hiding their scent so when you find a track or evidence of their presence, you can’t use the wind to guess where they might have gone. Their movements are unpredictable and twisty, unlike a lion which can travel stealthily in a straight line downwind so their scent is not picked by its prey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they are found, a log entry is recorded indicating their level of fullness (which indicates when they last ate) and condition. We would love to know WHAT they ate to measure the predator and prey eco balance in our wildlife and the ecologist can determine actions. Do we need more of a certain species, how long does a meal of a springbok sustain them versus another kill; but this is easier said than done. Unfortunately the collars frequently don’t work and only provide a reading every 6 hours when we’re lucky, so if the animals stop for a few hours (which would indicate a potential feeding) it is near impossible to get the kill location to see what can be found. However, that doesn’t deter us from looking, driving between signal locations and we happened upon a carcass one day. It was picked over but still fresh and had the signs of being a dog kill with the bones spread about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experieinces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

They are curious but not afraid; although when we reached a certain distance (or lack thereof) they moved to the next shade patch. Their eyes reflect their intelligence. They study and consider; you can see them gauging. Stunning in beauty, it pains me that they do not have public’s appreciation like a lion. I mention children’s books and media. These animals are not reperesented as a character; or if they are they are a bad one (although in my limited exposure to child anything, I think it is hyenas they get the bad rep even more often). A common issue also is that people don’t realize these are African wild animals. I was guilty of this myself. Originally they were African wolves and there is an effort to return to that name, as people think that wild dogs are simply street dogs that strayed to the wild. I was confused by this myself so totally get it. In reality, this species predates the American Grey Wolf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pangolin encounter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was already amazed at my day, but after accessing the threat of rain we headed out again to replace a low battery on a pangolin<\/a>‘s tag. When Gary told me of the opportunity, I was both excited and shocked. People can live their entire lives here and never see one of these elusive, shy creatures. This is very true of this particular species, the https:\/\/pangolinsg.org\/portfolio\/temmincks-pangolin\/<\/a>or giant ground pangolin. as some other species can be easier to locate (and thus poach) I have dreamed of seeing a pangolin, any pangolin, in person but never really thought I would. The odds are just so against it. Yet here we were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our girl (we think it is a female) is tagged (currently five are tagged, two wild, including her, and three that have been rehabiliated and released to us). What is interesting is that she has started traveling farther than ever before and in a very specific direction. This sudden change occurred a few weeks ago and no one knows why. The fact is, we know so little of these animals. We don’t know how they communicate or even how long they live. Among the 5 being monitored it has been observed that each leaves their burrows around the same time in the evening; when one goes out, usually the others who will forage will leave within 20 minutes. Again, we don’t have any idea why. It reminded me when I worked at a convenience store duriong the night. There could be a few hours where not a soul would appear and then multiple customers arrive out of nowhere all at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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