Putting it modestly, we’ve had an EPIC couple of weeks in the Klaserie! There’s just no other way of putting it. From a cheetah calmly feeding on her kill, only to lose it to a leopard; the Breakaway lionesses killing a buffalo right in front of our eyes, shortly joined by the greedy Mapoza male; the an elephant delivering a stillborn calf, and sadly losing it to the lions; numerous leopard sightings that knocked our socks off; the Hercules Pride spotted once again in our neck of the woods, feasting happily on a buffalo kill; and now, a pack of African wild dogs seen taking down a pregnant impala in front of nThambo Tree Camp this morning!
Africa on Foot guests were out on a walking safari this morning, while nThambo guests were being driven around the Klaserie by their guides Luan and Isaack. Only 10 minutes into the safari, Luan spotted the pack of wild dogs not far from nThambo at a waterhole called Wim’s Dam. His guests got the first visual of these rare and endangered predators, which also go by the name painted wolves, or Cape hunting dogs. Luan called in the sighting on the radio, notifying Greg and Enoch from Africa on Foot, who decided that the wild dogs were a good enough reason to cut their walking safari short and take a game viewer to the sighting. The dogs were on the move. A pack of 11 (6 pups and 5 adults) trotting quickly through the bush, on the scent of something tasty, and soon they arrived in the open area in front of nThambo Tree Camp.
The 5 guest chalets at nThambo overlook the open area and have views of the Klaserie all the way to the Drakensberg Mountains in the distance. This almost shrub-free plain is perfect for a quick hunt, and that’s exactly what the wild dogs had in mind! They picked up the pace to a sprint and bolted across the open area after a herd of impala, coming to a successful halt just in front of guest chalet 1. Southern Africa’s most endangered large carnivore had just made a kill right in front of our eyes!
At this time of year, the pregnant impala ewes are beginning to drop their lambs, and it just so happened that this particular female that was caught by the dogs was expecting. The death was quick, as the dogs worked fast to disembowel their prey, and once the pack of 11 started to feed from the carcass, it became clear that they had got more than they bargained for. The carcass was reduced to skin and bone in a matter of minutes, and soon it was all over. A classic and very fortunate safari sighting for our guests!
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