End of travels for roaming wild dogs
I followed the wild dogs on a quad bike and later on foot. They were not too bothered with my presence and were within a few steps from me at times.
MARA – After making a round trip to the Barberton area, the wild dogs were successfully darted when they returned to the valley this week.
After the two females which escaped from the Kruger National Park were spotted in the Mara Valley on October 20, they had caused quite a stir as one sighting after the other had been reported. They made their way deeper into the Gould’s Salvation Valley where they were able to successfully hunt a kudu calf. From here they moved in an eastern direction where they were spotted next to the R40 at the Barberton Nature Reserve.
It was, however, not long before they returned to the Mara Valley that they paid a visit to the guard house at the entrance to Croc River Mountain Conservancy. For a few days they were not seen or heard but hunger got the better of them and they returned to Imbabala Game Farm where they had previously feasted on the kudu.
Mr Steve Bester and Ms Debbie Cushway were once again able to take some pictures and shared them on the community WhatsApp group.
It was then decided that they were not safe here as they could potentially do a lot of damage to livestock numbers and might end up being shot. When it was noticed that they were sticking around, Mr Ferreira du Plessis of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency was called in to dart the animals.
Afterwards Bester noticed the wild dogs were back on his property. The two wanderers were trying to find a quick meal and it was not long before they had to be chased from a herd of cattle. “After notifying Ferreira that they were back, I followed them around on a quad bike and later on foot. They were not too bothered with my presence and were within a few steps from me at times.”
According to Du Plessis he darted the first one just before 19:00 on Wednesday but was unable to get the second animal. While on his way to work, Mr Ian Bach spotted the second wild dog at 07:00 the following day. According to Bach, “It looked like the dog was looking for its fellow wanderer but it remained calm. I alerted Du Plessis and continued to follow the dog for about two kilometres down the Mara gravel road before he arrived.” Du Plessis was able to successfully dart the second dog and transport it to a holding facility where it was reunited with its travel mate.
“We took some blood to test for diseases and will soon determine where they will be released,” explained Du Plessis. He did, however, explain that it was not always as simple as merely throwing them in with an existing pack, but that care would be taken to ensure a safe future for these drifting dogs.
