Zimbabwe Wild Dogs

Conservation of endangered wild dogs

Support WildlifeDirect:
buy branded merchandise

Pack update

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 30 2008 | By: zimbabwewilddogs

Hi guys,

Just a quick update on the packs.  The Nyarushanga pack is doing well and their second litter is still doing fine.  The Mapari pack which we thought was only 4 adults and 6 pups has now finished denning, and when we found them yesterday, we saw 6 adults and 7 pups!  So that’s good news.  The Maera pack adults are doing well; we saw all 11 of them the other day, but they are sadly down to only 3 pups now, after having started with at least 6…. They appear to be two from one litter and one from a later litter.

The Bedford Pack is proving hard to see, as they like to rest on top of hills so we have to walk to find them, and they tend to be very wary of people on foot.  We located them today by using the collars but couldnt see them… they ran down the other side of the hill as we got up.  We have 3 collared individuals in that pack, but were only picking up the signal from 2 of the collars.  Racoon, the young female collared dog either isn’t with the pack anymore, or her collar is broken.  We really need to see them to confirm that.  Hopefully it’s either just the collar malfunctioning, or the pack has split and she is somewhere else with other dogs.  We’ll keep looking for her.

The Mavericks pack in the south is doing OK, but we didnt have any luck removing the snare from the young female.  It appears as though it may have come off itself though, and she is doing well.  The collared male is still limping badly, so we’ll keep trying to dart him to treat the wound when an opportunity arises.  It’s possible the alpha female in that pack is pregnant too, which would be very exciting, although extremely late to start denning.  I’ll keep you posted.

We are also getting reports of other packs and spend much of our time trying to locate these.  It has been reported that one of the females of an unkonwn pack in the north is also pregnant, so watch this space…

Will be going to Harare for a few days soon, and will post again after that,

Rosemary 

3 Responses to “Pack update”

Mike, on 30 Sep 2008

Howzit Ro,

Thought you and the readers might enjoy this bit of footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LFvEWPuI-E

Sarai Zvakanaka,

Mike

sheryl, washington, dc, on 30 Sep 2008

I love their ears! Great vid, thanks for dropping by with it, Mike.

Thanks, Rosemary, for updates on the groups. Any word yet on Racoon’s whereabouts?

Enjoy spending your billions in Harare. :-)

s.

TheTeach, on 05 Oct 2008

Glad to hear there are several packs around for you to monitor and study. I always fear the worst for these guys. On another topic, could you guys comment on the status of elephants in Zimbabwe presently. I know that Zimbabwe has had one of the largest populations of elephants of any African country, but recent news in the internet media has made it sound like poaching has gone through the roof, and that there has been mass killing of elephants by both poachers and trophy hunters. I am aware that all of Zimbabwe’s wildlife is suffering terribly during the current crisis there. But what is your perspective on the ground there, in country, from both your own observations and what you hear from the conservation community within Zimbabwe? I would really appreciate a response on this blog to my question. Thanks! Bless You & Keep up the great work you are doing. Best Wishes!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply