About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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21 Comments

on The Week in Pictures #388

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Ian Hall
Master Tracker

Two very similar and good photos in the young impala ram and the wild dog , both showing the importance of eye contact

Marinda Drake
Master Tracker

The pictures are really beautiful this week. Love all the wild dogs.

Andrew and Daniel Bolnick
Digital Tracker

James, A cool Mongoose and Wild dog picture at the end nailed it this week. Good stuff

Darlene Knott
Master Tracker

Very nice photos you are getting! Waterbuck are hard to capture, but your shot was excellent! And I particularly loved the rhino ‘working his midden’! Terrific TWIP!

James Tyrrell
Alumni

Thanks Darlene!

Bob and Lucie Fjeldstad
Master Tracker

Is it the open views that attracts game to the airstrip … the ability to see what might be headed their way? Seems like s tough area for predators to hunt in.

James Tyrrell
Alumni

100% right!

William Riley
Explorer

Wonderful pictures! Interesting caveat on wild dogs predating hyaena cubs too, have not seen this formally reported. Has it been witnessed on Londolozi?

James Tyrrell
Alumni

Hi William,
I haven’t seen it myself but I remember it happening on Singita next door; I think in 2015 if my memory serves me correctly. I’ll try find out some more detail for you.
Best regards

Johanna Browne
Senior Digital Ranger

I was curious about the how’s and why’s a wild dog would “disperse” from it’s pack? Since they have probably the closest knit social structure in the animal kingdom, even feeding and caring for their sick and elderly, I was surprised to hear of one ever being alone. I cannot find an answer to this anywhere. I would love to know why if you could share this?

James Tyrrell
Alumni

Hi Johanna,
See my answer to Doug, asking the same question…

Best regards

Johanna Browne
Senior Digital Ranger

Thank you!

Doug Hammerich
Digital Tracker

Interesting comment on the wild dog on the airstrip. Can individual wild dogs decide to go find another pack?

James Tyrrell
Alumni

Hi Doug,
As I understand it, Wild Dogs do disperse from their natal packs from time to time, most likely in an attempt to maintain a healthy gene pool.
From what I’ve read, different areas have recorded different sex-skewed departures, with more females being recorded leaving in some parts of Africa and more males dispersing in others. I imagine it is due to a combination of current sex ratios within a pack (ie. if there were 9 females and one male, it makes more sense for females to leave) and social status (the alpha pair breeds, so a low-ranking dog might deem it more beneficial to leave and maybe get accepted into a pack in which there was a greater chance of breeding).
They are fascinating animals and worth reading up on!

Check out this link: https://www.bpctrust.org/blog/the-walk-of-life-african-wild-dog-dispersal-and-what-it-means-for-management-and-conservation

Best regards

Sylvain Villeroy De Galhau
Guest Contributor

Very nice pictures James! Looks like you’ve playing with your 600mm quite actively this week, almost all your pics are at full range… I love those close-ups, we really feel next to the animals (of course not litteraly like your curious wild dog at the end of the blog)

James Tyrrell
Alumni

Hi Sylvain,
Haha if only it was mine! It’s such an amazing lens; it compresses the image nicely and can give a wonderful bokeh.
Yip, that dog at the end practically sniffed our tyres!

Joan Schmiidt
Master Tracker

James wonderful photos, loved the one with the rhino

Denise Vouri
Guest contributor

Wow James,

You’ve managed to capture some wonderful images this week, and it appears most of them were taken with a new lens?! The “Mickey Mouse “ wild dog photo at the end made me smile, wondering what he was thinking…… looking forward to your next installment- there’s no limit to subject matter available to you!

Michael and Terri Klauber
Master Tracker

James, you are rocking it with the 1 DX II. We are getting very jealous! The close up of the inquisitive wild dog is a classic!

Callum Evans
Master Tracker

I love the phot0s of the impalas and the wild dogs!!!

Callum Evans
Master Tracker

And there is amazing light in that rhino photo!!

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