Hi folks,
Rueben and I had an interesting afternoon yesterday. We went off to find the Batanai pack so that I could download the GPS collar and check the dogs for snares etc. There had been a lot of rain in the area however, and getting to the dogs was an adventure…
We eventually got to them (suffice to say the 4 wheel drive was sufficiently tested), and found them resting in some thick shade by a water pan.
We’d taken the doors off the URI once we were close to the dogs, to make it easier to see and photograph them but even so it was hard to see them in their thicket.
So I had to resort to crawling up to them on my stomach… Fortunately it was not too thorny, just a little wet and muddy!
The dogs closest to me were the pups – now 7 months old. They didn’t seem to mind me being there, and a few even came up to have a look. It’s an interesting experience being looked down on by a wild dog!
Eventually the adults got wind of me, and they moved off a short distance. Following them on foot gave us unusually good sightings (they normally run away when you approach on foot) and we were able to confirm that all 18 are still there (11 adults and 7 pups) and that there are no snares or serious injuries in the pack.
Rosemary
2 Comments
How very cool – getting so close! The heck with the mud…lol! Very happy they are all there and especially NO snares!!!
Yes, gorgeous images of the dogs!
I am wondering what they are thinking or feeling? The facial expression on the dog in the second to last photo reminded me of a timber wolf that checked me out in Alaska one day. It had chased a moose into a pond and gave up on the moose presumably because of the deep water. Then the wolf moved towards me with that similar intense look, then moved away. That was a huge and happy-to-have experience that i will never forget.
Love your new rig!