Fans lined up to have their photos taken with one of the world’s foremost experts on African predators on Saturday June 1.
Dr Gus Mills addressed an audience of about 100 people at the Henk van Rooyen Park in Marloth Park, discussing the biology and behaviour of wild dogs.
Mills, the author of numerous books and over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and his wife Margie were invited by the Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre to present a talk.
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After 40 years as a dedicated conservationist, Mills is now retired, but he remains eager to share his encyclopaedical knowledge gained through years of hands-on research in the bush.
He explained how the wild dog was driven to near extinction due to its undeserved reputation as a cold-blooded killer. Instead, his studies show that this highly selective predator lives life on the edge.
Unlike big cats that spend much of their time sleeping, wild dogs expend huge amounts of energy running down their favoured antelope prey.
Typically, the targeted animals are already in poor condition, so this type of hunting improves the overall health of the prey population. Mills also highlighted that his 15 years of studying wild dogs in the Kruger National Park revealed their population is highly dynamic.
In drought years, when prey is weak, wild dogs pups flourish and pack numbers grow. Conversely, in wetter years, healthier prey makes hunting difficult, causing the populations to crash.
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He emphasised that people should not manage the wild dogs numbers to maintain an artificially derived count, but let nature take its course and accept the inevitable fluctuations. Following his talk, they had a question session.
Deidré Joubert of Wild and Free spoke about the impending completion of a new animal rehabilitation centre just outside Marloth Park.
Situated on three hectares of land, this state-of-the-art facility, built with the help of international donors, features fully secure fencing and on-site veterinary facilities, poised to become a significant addition to conservation efforts across the region.
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Wild and Free thanked all the residents for attending, and André van den Berg of Amazing Riverview for providing his speaker system for the talk.
