Wild dog
relocation diaries
Wild dog relocation diaries
Recently, Derek van der Merwe and a dedicated team undertook an essential Wild Dog relocation in the Waterberg. This pack has been monitored over the last two years and at first consisted of just two individuals in the Vrymansrust area of the Waterberg. They denned on a property called Kamonande and successfully raised five of their six pups in 2018. We collared the pack in 2018, and have been tracking their progress ever since. Last year, they denned on a property called Thaba Lesodi and had a further eight pups, bringing the pack to 15 strong, before three males dispersed from the pack earlier this year, bringing the pack to 12 members. Due to the size of the pack and the small area they were living in – 22,000 ha compared to two other free roaming packs that we monitor, namely the Melkrivier Pack (90,000 ha) and Mokgalakwena pack (140,000 ha) – the pack’s impact was beginning to be felt financially by local landowners in the area. The pack was travelling further way from their core range and started taking livestock – probably due the to the fact that they were stuck on small farms and nothing else was available. After exhausting all options, including placing livestock guarding dogs, as well as training and using a rapid response team to use telemetry to chase the Wild Dogs off farms where they were not wanted, the Wild Dog Advisory Group decided to capture and relocate this pack to a safer place. Derek shared this incredible experience in his Wild Dog Relocation Diary:
Pre capture
We had managed to comfortably collar this pack in October 2019, and even while we were working on the darted individual at the time, the rest of the pack continued feeding on the carcass we had used to bait them. However, we knew straight away that this capture would be a difficult exercise. The pack was suddenly very wary of us and did not respond to the first call up. A call up is used to get the target animal for relocation treatment or collaring into an accessible position for a vet to dart/sedate it so that the wild animal can be worked on in a safe and unobtrusive manner. We later found out that the pack had recently been shot at and as a result were very mistrustful of us. Over the next three days, we managed to coax them into a call up and started habituating them to our presence. Eventually, after three days, we got them feeding within 40m of the car.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 lockdown put an end to our habituation process and we needed to arrange permits in order to complete this critical relocation. We monitored the pack via satellite collars and noticed one of the dogs was stationary. I was concerned that the dog might be in a snare and asked the landowner to go and check. My assumption was correct and Wildefuffi, the first dog we collared in the area, was found dead in a snare on a cattle farm. We immediately realised that this capture needed to be done as soon as possible! The lockdown meant that there would be no more monitoring on the ground and was a good opportunity for landowners to shoot or even poison the entire pack while there was little police presence or conservation officials working in the area. We started planning the capture, but, while the Wild Dog pack was on a property that is very Wild Dog tolerant, unfortunately we could not gain access. So, we had to wait for them to move off…
Loxton, a small authentic Karoo Town
Visit the heart of Riverine Rabbit territory and the EWT’s Northern Cape office.
Stay for a couple of days, walk around the town dam, and soak up the authenticity of this small, clean, and safe town.
When you leave, take the gravel road to Fraserburg and experience the vast openness of the Karoo.
For more information, click here
namaqualand flowers
The Bokkeveld Plateau is the bulb capital of the world. It boasts more than 1,350 flowering bulbs, and in some areas, the density of flowers reaches more than 20,000 plants per square meter, more than anywhere else on earth. Four main vegetation types occupy the area; Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, Hantam Karoo, and a small area of Vanrhynsdorp Shale Renosterveld. Each vegetation type contains unique species, and more than 30% of the endemics are Red Data species threatened with extinction. The immense species richness of the area makes it a high priority to conserve and a spectacular place to visit.
namaqualand flowers
The Bokkeveld Plateau is the bulb capital of the world. It boasts more than 1,350 flowering bulbs, and in some areas, the density of flowers reaches more than 20,000 plants per square meter, more than anywhere else on earth. Four main vegetation types occupy the area; Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, Hantam Karoo, and a small area of Vanrhynsdorp Shale Renosterveld. Each vegetation type contains unique species, and more than 30% of the endemics are Red Data species threatened with extinction. The immense species richness of the area makes it a high priority to conserve and a spectacular place to visit.
namaqualand flowers
The Bokkeveld Plateau is the bulb capital of the world. It boasts more than 1,350 flowering bulbs, and in some areas, the density of flowers reaches more than 20,000 plants per square meter, more than anywhere else on earth. Four main vegetation types occupy the area; Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, Hantam Karoo, and a small area of Vanrhynsdorp Shale Renosterveld. Each vegetation type contains unique species, and more than 30% of the endemics are Red Data species threatened with extinction. The immense species richness of the area makes it a high priority to conserve and a spectacular place to visit.
namaqualand flowers
The Bokkeveld Plateau is the bulb capital of the world. It boasts more than 1,350 flowering bulbs, and in some areas, the density of flowers reaches more than 20,000 plants per square meter, more than anywhere else on earth. Four main vegetation types occupy the area; Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, Hantam Karoo, and a small area of Vanrhynsdorp Shale Renosterveld. Each vegetation type contains unique species, and more than 30% of the endemics are Red Data species threatened with extinction. The immense species richness of the area makes it a high priority to conserve and a spectacular place to visit.