The Cape Hunting Dog a.k.a the Wild Dog used to occur throughout the Savanna regions of Africa but is now extinct in many parts of its original habitat. Fortunately however a number of these unmistakable carnivores can be found in the more ‘protected areas’ of our National Parks and some privately owned game reserves.

Although similar in size to a domestic Alsatian dog, it is recognisable by its large, rounded ears, long legs and a bushy white tipped tail. The body is blotched with black, white, brown and yellowish-brown hairs. Fully grown adults can reach a shoulder height of between 65-80cm and a body mass of around 20-30kgs.

As one of the rarest large carnivore in the sub-region, it hunts by sight and is usually associated with open veldt type habitat. As a highly specialised and efficient hunter, the Wild Dog hunts in organised packs where team work is the key to success. A pack usually numbering 10-15 animals although smaller and larger packs have been observed.

Hunting is conducted mainly during the cooler morning and late afternoon hours. Prey ranges from scrub hare to buffalo and most members of the pack engage in the hunt. As a pack they move slowly towards its sighted prey, increasing the pace as the quarry starts to move away. Once an individual has been singled out, one or two dogs usually chase the prey while others follow in hot pursuit taking turns in ‘chasing down’ the prey if necessary. A chase can sometimes last for several kilometers before the prey is brought down. Some dogs can reach speeds of up to 50 kph and sustain this speed for quite some distance.

Lacking the strong jaws, teeth and sharp powerful claws needed to catch and hold down the prey, the Wild Dog’s prey on the other hand is bitten and torn apart whilst on the run until it weakens from shock or loss of blood. This usually results in a much quicker death to the prey animal and although often regarded as a very cruel form of death, one should bear in mind that the prey animal is most probably in a state of shock and feels very little pain. Yes, I have had clients commenting to me by saying that a Wild Dog has a reputation as a “wanton killer”. This is not entirely true because we need to remember that the Wild Dog kills only for its immediate needs.

A Wild Dog can yip, twitter, whine and growl and barks when danger such as a Lion is spotted. Did you know that a Wild Dog consumes more food per body mass than a Lion? This basically means that for an animal as active as a Wild Dog it will probably need to hunt and kill every day preferring fresh meat from its own kill and consume an average of about 3kgs of meat daily.

Between 2-10 pups are born in abandoned burrows of other species. Most births take place during the dry, winter months when grass is short and hunting conditions at their best. Unfortunately not all young pups survive in the wild. The high mortality amongst the pups is mainly due to disease and they succumb to the ‘hard life’ of roaming over large areas and being exposed to other predators to which they sometimes fall prey to.

Adults leave the den when the young are about 10-12 weeks old and are followed by the young dogs. In the wild, Wild Dogs can grow as old as 12 years and a little older in captivity.

Fortunately the decline in Wild Dog numbers have been relatively stabilised over the past number of years. This is mainly attributed to the Wild Dog breeding centres which have been established in some parts of the country where conservationists and wildlife scientists are hard at work managing some of the breeding projects. These breeding projects will hopefully increase the Wild Dog numbers so that some of these animals can eventually be relocated to areas where they once occurred naturally.

So, next time you happen to be in that fortunate position to spot a Wild Dog or pack of them either resting or hunting, consider yourself ‘very lucky’. It is worth taking some photographs and showing these to your friends and family back home because they are going to be very jealous of you having experienced such a rare opportunity in Africa.

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The Leopard (Panthera pardus)

The Leopard or “Mr/Mrs Spots” as some people like to refer to them, is one of the most adaptable predators around and distributed over several continents, including a wide variety of habitats.

Clients often comment to me saying that they have seen most of the ‘Big 5′ game animals in our parks and private reserves during their safari tour but never or very seldom get to see a leopard in the wild.That is true, but why is this? Well. leopards are mainly nocturnal in habit, iow they are more active at night spending the major part of the day in dense undergrowth, coupled with their excellent camouflage and the type of habitat they prefer, makes them quite difficult to see most of the times.

Did you know that a leopard’s prey ranges from rats to fully grown wildebeest, birds, reptiles and even fish. Domestic animals like dogs, cats, goats, sheep and cattle also form part of their diet from time to time. To catch prey, leopard rely on their sight, hearing and smell, all of these senses are very well developed. They may either lie in ambush or stalk their prey and then pounce on it. They are very efficient hunters indeed!!  

Talking of food…ever wondered why leopard hang their prey on trees? Feeding is done predominately in a tree. In this way they safe-guard their prey from other predators such as lions, hyenas and wild hunting dogs. These predators have been known to drive a leopard off its kill in order to obtain the food. A leopard can consume up to 5kg of meat on a daily basis.

A leopard is one of the most beautiful creatures/cats on this planet and often referred to as the “Prince of Cats”. They are graceful and strongly built with short powerful legs and a long tail. Interestingly, the spots on the upper part of the body look like ‘rosettes’ formed by 4-6 individual spots, while single spots are found on the legs. The spots on a cheetah for example are smaller and single.

Ever wondered or heard if a leopard can roar? Definitely not like a lion! They utter coarse grunting sounds and also emit snarls, hisses and growls.

In captivity, leopard have a potential life-span as high as 20 years and considerably less in their natural environment. A leopard is solitary by habit and also territorial. Territories are scent-marked with a spray of urine. 1-3 cubs are born in a secluded spot in dense bush or mountainous areas. Cubs are hidden for a number of weeks before they accompany the mother.   

In spite of its elusiveness where man is concerned, the ‘Prince of Cats’ has not been classified as “dangerous game ” for nothing and must never be underestimated. A leopard is very bold, cunning and courages and will not hesitate to attack viciously should it feel to be in danger, cornered or even wounded. A number of unprovoked attacks on people have been recorded fortunately resulting in very few deaths.

Leopards do sometimes fall prey to lion, hyena and wild dogs (their natural enemies). Venomous snakes, crocodile and pythons can also kill leopard. They can suffer from various illnesses such as cat flu and pneumonia….

The African Lion (Panthera leo)

The African lion, the “King of beasts”  is the largest of cats in Africa varying in colour from pale tawny to dark brown. The adult male has  a thick woolly mane that can vary in colour and length. The African Lion is found mostly distributed south of the Sahara desert and mainly restricted to large savanna type conservation areas. An adult male can grow to a shoulder height of up to 1,2m(47 in) and weigh around 220 – 250kg (500lbs). As carnivores, their food source consists mainly of medium to large mammals which are caught and killed through skilled stalking and ambush. A daily average of 5-7kg of meat is consumed. When charging down it’s prey, lions can reach speeds of up to 80kph (50mph) with most of the hunting conducted during the cooler hours of the day or night.

Did you know that on average 3 cubs are born after a gestation period of about 110 days and lion cubs are born with their eyes closed for the first 7-14 days and are pretty helpless for the first 2-3 weeks of their lives. A lioness is very protective over her litter and will not hesitate to attack an “intruder” venturing too close to her cubs.

When next on a Big Game safari and you are fortunate enough to encounter a pride of lions have a look at the size of the pride and how they interact with each other. You will notice that the ‘core’ of the pride is predominately made up of females/lionesses and their off-spring with one or more adult males/lions around. It’s a known fact that the size of the pride is dictated by prey availability in an area with the females/lionesses doing most of the hunting.

How about this… a lion can grow as old as 15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Their roar can be heard up to 8kms(5miles) away. That is pretty awesome !!

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The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

The African Elephant is the world’s largest living land animal. Adult bulls can weigh anything up to 6000kg(13000lbs) and attain a shoulder height of 3-3,5m(12ft), consume around 160kg(350lbs) on a variety of plants and drink up tp 300L of water a day.

Some 18hrs out of 24hrs are spent feeding with the remainder of the time spent sleeping and resting. The trunk is a muscular extension of the upper lip containing two nostrils. Their teeth consist of 6 sets of cheek teeth, 2 upper and 2 lower. The upper incisors are modified as continuously growing tusks and these can weigh up to 50kg(110lbs) on average in older males/bulls. A pair of tusks are also referred to as ‘Master & Slave’ tusk. Which is which you may wonder!? Well, the shorter of the two is called the ‘slave tusk’. This tusk is primarily used for doing all the work like digging up roots and breaking bark off trees. The slave tusk will also indicate whether the animal is either ‘right or left handed’, how about that?!

Did you know that an African Elephant has 4 toes on each front foot and 3 toes on each hind foot!? Ever noticed that secretion flowing down on either side of the head near the eyes?   This is often seen in most or all herd members. When a copious flow of this  sticky and pungent smelling secretion is observed, especially in males/bulls, then this bull is referred to be “in musth”, a term used in describing the animal to be sexually active, however, it may also indicate a high level of stress it may be experiencing. This  ‘temporal gland’ is also responsible for the secretion which is used for scent-marking an area and this is done by rubbing it on trees and rocks, which in turn ‘advertises’ the animal’s breeding activity.

Elephants have no natural enemies as such, except man in areas where they are still hunted or poached for their ivory and or meat. Small calves may fall prey to lions and hyenas though when they stray from their mother on a herd seperation.  Have you ever wondered how old a Elephant can grow ? Well, how about 70 years of age…yes that’s true and did you know that it is not the dominant bull that leads the main herd but the oldest cow in the herd that does the leading.

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Ever wondered what the difference is between a Black Rhino and White Rhino?  To some people, and I know quite a few of them, a rhino is simply a rhino! Well, let me help by mentioning a few difference between the two rhinos, the most common one lies in the neck and the shape of their mouths. The White Rhino has a broad, flat lip for grazing, sometimes referred to as the “square-lipped” rhino, and the head cannot be lifted above the back. The Black Rhino on the other hand has a long, pointed, hooked, upper lip,  sometimes referred to the “hooked-lipped” rhino, and the head can be lifted above the back for browsing. A black rhino is approximately 40% smaller than a white rhino and has a shorter head. The white rhino is larger in body size having a longer head, wider and longer body and a fully grown adult can obtain a shoulder height of 1,8m (6ft) whereas the black rhino can grow to a shoulder height of around 1,5m (5ft)

Did you know that a rhino’s horn consists of a compact mass of tubular keratin fibres, very much like our finger nails, growing directly from the skin. A white rhino is a grazer of short to medium grass whereas the black rhino will consume leaves, branches, shoots, berries, pods, succulents and to a lesser degree medium to tall grass as part of their diet and for this reason they require the mouth parts as described in the aforementioned paragraph.

White Rhino spoor……

Our safari business is named “Sukulu” meaning Black Rhino in the African Tembo language !

Another interesting comparison between the two species is that the calf of the white rhino tends to walk in front of the mother whereas the calf of the black rhino normally follows behind her.

Also and according to variuos sourses, a Black Rhino can attain an age of around 35-40 years. Black rhino are solitary except for cows. Bulls are generally aggressive towards each other as well as towards calves. Black rhino cows become sexually mature at around 4-5 years whereas the bulls attain their sexual maturity age at between 7-8 years. Dominant bulls frequenlty test the acceptance of the females and a dominant bulls will mate with up to 3 females. During this time the bull scrapes and scatters the cow’s dung when she defecates in order to prevent other bulls detecting her scent trail. At birth the calf is hidden for 3 days and then follows her mother. The calf is weaned at about 2 years of age and stays with the mother until the birth of the next calf.

Bulls become territorial at an age of nine years and defend their territories aggressively. Marking is by means of urine squirting , scraping the soil with the horn and dragging the hind feet for distances of up to 10 m  along pathways. Dung middens and rubbing posts also act as markers within their territory. The black rhino is generally referred to as being ”grumpy, moody and short-tempered” and quite a few field rangers can attest to that.

Compiled by SukuluSafaris CC information centre