A recent morning’s sighting with the Ottawa Pack of wild dogs unfolded slowly and kept us focused for a long period of time, with several changes in pace and direction along the way.
The Ottawa Pack currently consists of 18 individuals (11 adults and 7 pups), and after their long absence and eventual return to the area, it has been good to see them on the Londolozi property again. Finding them this morning, however, was not straightforward. Ranger Kate Tennick eventually found them after we had all been searching for a while. As is often the case with wild dogs, we would see them briefly, lose sight of them again, and then re-find them further ahead. They were moving quickly through a relatively thick section of the reserve, which always makes it difficult.
After losing them for a while, we found the pack feeding on several impala lambs. They remained in that area for some time, feeding and moving slowly before heading off through a drainage line. It was here that the sighting shifted.
As the dogs moved through the drainage, they came across a herd of wildebeest. Within the herd were two very young calves, both no more than a couple of weeks old, as well as a female that had already started the birthing process. The wild dogs immediately began applying pressure, spreading out and attempting to test the herd’s defence.
This is what we arrived at. You can see the birth sack of the wildebeest, which has just started giving birth. As the sighting unfolded, this sack popped.
The wildebeest responded as they often do. The herd grouped tightly together, keeping the calves protected in the centre, while some of the adult wildebeest broke away and chased the dogs. This behaviour continued for some time, with the dogs being pushed back briefly before returning again to probe for an opening.
The wild dogs surround the herd while they all huddle together and protect the two calves in the centre.
What made this sighting particularly interesting was the behaviour of the birthing female. Despite being partway through labour, she was one of the ring leaders in trying to chase the wild dogs away. Each time the dogs approached, she led the charge, helping to defend the calves and maintain pressure on the pack. The dogs were clearly focused on the young calves, and I’m sure there was extra pressure on the herd due to the female being in the process of giving birth.
You can clearly see the female who is in the process of giving birth chasing the wild dogs away.
This back-and-forth continued for what I thought was about 40 minutes, but I did lose track of time. The wild dogs remained persistent, returning repeatedly after being chased off, while the wildebeest stood their ground. Eventually, two of the adult wildebeest managed to chase the wild dogs far enough away for the rest of the herd to break away and move quickly into a nearby thicket. Once the herd disappeared into thicker cover, the wild dogs lost interest and turned their attention in the opposite direction, moving off to chase a herd of impala.
Two wildebeest chased the pack off, while it gave a chance for the others to move off.
Sometime after the dogs had moved away, the birthing female was able to complete the process and give birth to her calf, despite the prolonged stress and pressure from the pack earlier on. What fascinated me most about this sighting was the fact that when the wild dogs arrived, she had started giving birth, but she managed to stop herself and be involved in protecting the herd as well as herself. She chased the wild dogs while halfway through the process and still managed to give birth after all the stress she was under.
This was an absolutely astonishing sighting and we all could not believe what we had just witnessed. And it is in moments like this that we are reminded of just how resilient these animals need to be in order to survive out here.
This sighting was a good reminder of how resilient prey species need to be in order to survive. Being able to sit and watch a sighting from start to finish, as incredible as this, had me in awe, and I will certainly cherish this forever.
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on Ottawa Pack Pressure: A Morning with Wild Dogs and Wildebeest