The first time I heard about African wild dogs or African painted dogs or African hunting dogs was in Toto’s Africa… “wild dogs cry out in the night…” I thought that he was referring to dogs that lived in the wild. But upon researching wild dogs I realized that they are distinctively different to anything that even remotely resembles a domestic dog ‘in the wild.’
Wild dogs are a canine species that is native to sub-Saharan Africa. While they are a highly skilled pack of hunters, they are a threatened species, primarily from human consequences coupled with disease. Their favorite meal is antelope and what I witnessed is they like McDonalds – a meme name given by guides in the bush for the impala because it’s behind has markings resembling the ‘golden arches.’
I love wild dogs. In fact they are my absolute favorite animal in the wild! Besides the unique coloring, I am fascinated by their their ability to strategically plan a hunt and communicate while they are in-flight. Their 'mickey mouse' ears are highly sensitive to their surroundings and moreover they have an innate ability to communicate within the pack with each other at a frequency that seems to be a kind of ‘closed band radio frequency’ for wild dogs ONLY! I call their ears for what they literally are; a satellite strength receiver trying to capture alien signals from outer space.
To get to photograph them is truly a rarity for two reasons. They rarely keep still. Perhaps only after a meal will they stop for a short while and then immediately plan their next supermarket trip. I have had the honor of chasing after a pack on a hunt, another when they were resting, but the most incredible experience was once at dusk at a waterhole where a pack of wild dogs gave chase to an antelope who dashed into the water. The pack surrounded the waterhole and the alpha-male gave orders for the generals and the soldiers to keep taunting the antelope from various angles around the waterhole.
The antelope knew that she was dead meat if she came out of the water. The sunlight was extremely poor by now and we had missed our usual sundowner timing, when suddenly I heard the loud heart piercing trumpeting of elephants. Wild dogs and elephants have no respect or patience for each other. However, size does matter, and wild dogs seemed to understand the laws of physics and math. The pack dispersed faster than I could say e l e p h a n t s!!! As you can imagine, the antelope was ever so thankful to the elephants and cautiously waded her way through the water to the banks and tip toed away into the darkness while the elephants continued to enjoy their sundowners!
Just one more insight I’d like to share with you. For those of us who love puppies, the young wild dogs are the most adorable and you wish you could take them home – till you realize that probably isn’t a good idea, although it would turn many heads walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan.
Every time I drive into a game park I always put on Toto’s Africa and sing out loudly hoping that my painted friends will come out and invite me to humbly photograph them. So far, it’s worked like a charm. I’m pasting the lyrics to Africa (credit: lyrics.com) here hoping that they may work as a charm for you on your next Safari.
Lyrics to Africa - by Toto (https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/9942321/Toto/Africa)
Comments