Clawing their way back
Larry Bentley
A NEW conservation project, ‘The
Management and Conservation of the African
Wild Dog in KZN’ was launched at the
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park last week.
The African Wild Dog is recovering from
near-extinction and its progress will be
monitored by a multiple partnership research
and management effort.
The project is led by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
(EKZNW) and has attracted sponsorship of
R1-million from the Green Trust through the
Endangered Wildlife Trust.
The Smithsonian Institute is supporting the
project and Land Rover South Africa has
supplied a vehicle.
Project aims
The project, co-ordinated by Thadaigh
Baggallay, aims to monitor wild dogs inside
and outside the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP).
The dispersed packs will be monitored and
the communities within their territories
will be made aware of their importance.
This task is the responsibility of Zama
Zwane who works with the communities and
schools in the area.
He is working closely with the Biodiversity
Environmental Education Project (BEEP).
Research will cover the movement of the
dogs, their favoured vegetation types when
moving from one area to the next, and the
perceptions and attitudes of communities
likely to encounter them.
Fast movers
Wild dogs are fast movers when looking for a
new pack and the travels of Lightning,
Prince and Azim were revealed.
They travelled 170 kilometres in 16 days
looking for a suitable female pack.
Readings on Lightning’s GPS collar were
recorded on the HiP fenceline, at Ophathe
(outside Ulundi), Ntendeka (Ngome), Zululand
Rhino Reserve, Mkhuze Reserve and the
uPhongolo region.
Expansion
The largest population of wild dogs is found
in the Kruger National Park.
Their numbers vary between 250 and 400
animals.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park has an estimated 100
dogs, making it the second largest
concentration of wild dogs in the country.
With game reserve consolidation in Zululand,
and the move by farmers to game farming, the
dogs are being given a better chance of
survival.Two recent re-introductions into
the Thanda Private Game Reserve and Mkhuze
Game Reserve have been made over the last
few months.
Responding to a questionnaire, a large
number of landowners have pledged support to
the project and will allow dogs to cross
their land unhindered.
