I’m sad to report that we found the fresh carcass of one of our wild dogs today – killed by a car on the main tarmac road to the north of the conservancy.
African wild dog killed by a vehicle
It was one of last year’s pups – a young male of the Bedford pack that we named Dumble (short for Dumbledore in the hope that one day he would grow up to be a wise alpha male!). Dumble was part of the Bedford Bachelor group – the ones metioned in the last post for their wide-ranging movements in search of females… It seems that their search took them right up to the north of the conservancy yesterday evening, and through the fence and out of the conservancy.
African wild dog carcass - hit by a vehicle
We were unable to pick up a signal from the pack’s collar, and just have to hope that the dogs come back into the conservancy before getting themselves into trouble in the villages, or suffering further road casualties. Fortunately the pack has a GPS collar, so if they do come back, we will be able to see where they went.
We rarely record road-kill as a cause of death of wild dogs in our area, although this is one of the major causes of death for wild dogs around Hwange National Park. Nonetheless it may be worth getting more of these signs put up…
Wild Dog Crossing - Warning Sign
I will let you know if/when the pack returns to the conservancy, and fingers crossed they will do so with no further losses.
One Comment
What a sad news. Hopefully they come back soonest