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2003 has turned out to be a season of challenges for the Lower Zambezi wild dogs, and anyone crazy enough to try to research them. Overall, the population has ended up roughly the same size as when it started out. During the season there was a change over in alpha females in the GMA pack. Sadly, CC the alpha female from the GMA pack was observed losing condition during her pregnancy, and lost her litter at a late stage. She went downhill from there and died a few weeks later. Through sheer luck her body was found floating midstream in the Zambezi River by a sundowner cruise out from Chiawa camp, untouched by crocodiles, and I was able to do a rushed post-mortem and send samples off for pathology. Fortunately she tested negative for canine distemper, rabies and other diseases which could have threatened the area's wild dog population. CC's sister, Papillion, had already been observed as pregnant and assumed alpha status immediately following CC's demise. This was only the second observed case of a beta female falling pregnant in the Lower Zambezi population in over five years of monitoring, so it was well timed and meant that the GMA pack would still have a litter for 2003. The pack denned a few weeks later. After much aerial tracking and walking in to den sites to have the dogs disappear from under my nose, it was eventually confirmed that the pack had eight pups. The dogs shifted around a lot this year as their den sites appeared to be constantly harassed by hyenas. Only three of the original eight pups now survive, a blow compared to last year's survival rate of eight out of eleven pups. Two of the male yearlings, who were active babysitters, were also lost recently. A hyaena was observed eating an adult wild dog carcass by one of the camps, so it is likely that both dogs died defending the pups. So four adults in total disappeared from the GMA pack this year (Billy died early in the year) and three new pups have survived to date. Not the result I hoped for this year but at least they are still a stable breeding pack with the potential to grow next year. No more snares were observed on any of the dogs since Billy's death, which is a hopeful sign that poaching by snares may be decreasing in the area. The Mushika pack is still hiding in the hills, unfortunately the collared dog was taken by a predator only days before the pack disappeared to den in the escarpment, so no there was no chance to re-collar. This pack did not return to the valley floor until January 2003 after last year's denning season, so here's hoping they turn up in the next few months with a few healthy new pups in tow. As I dictate to Alex I am tidying up five years of fieldwork and preparing to return to Sydney to analyse, write up and finally publish the results of this project. I have just videoed an entire Zambezi sunset so I can take it with me and replay when needed. There are still a good three months of lab work and DNA analysis to finish off, plus the small matter of writing up that thesis, so I will be in Australia for my longest stint away from Africa in seven years. I realised just how long I have been in Africa a few weeks ago, when my faithful Dogmobile Hi-Lux broke down. I fiddled about and found it was just a broken accelerator cable and I "made a bush plan" and fixed it with a bit of wire. Seven years ago I didn't even know what an accelerator cable was - it must be time to go to Sydney and have my hair done or buy a dress or something . . . Hopefully, my work on the wild dogs and related species will form the foundation for a long term monitoring project in the Lower Zambezi. I am in the process of circulating a proposal with the aim of raising the funds and resources required to continue monitoring the wild dogs, and extend research into other species to form the first ecological database for the Lower Zambezi National Park. If you are interested in supporting this second stage, please leave a message on the feedback page which will be passed directly on to me. Thanks again for your interest and support. |
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© Afrikeye 1999 - 2007 (certain items under permission of original copyright owner) |
