Durban - For David Marneweck, field officer for the Endangered Wildlife Trust KwaZulu-Natal Wild Dog Project, the situation for the reclusive carnivore is precarious.
“From our count (end of June) there are 412 wild dogs in the country, with 87 of those located in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
Marneweck said a more recent count revealed that there were 536 wild dogs nationally.
“That is the highest it has been in a long time although the numbers always seem greater just after the pups have emerged from the denning season (September).”
There are only between 3 000 and 5 000 wild dogs left on the continent.
He added that there were a number of reasons for the reduction in wild dog numbers, mainly direct, active hunting and wild dogs being run over. Indirectly wild dogs are lost to snaring and human persecution.
“Habitat fragmentation due to a burgeoning human population that has cut off traditional movement routes of wild dogs, which has led to sub-population isolation,” he explained.
Marneweck said there were also ecological factors keeping wild dog numbers low, such as their broad-ranging behaviour, but with limited protected areas that are large enough, they battle to keep their numbers high enough to be self-sustaining in an area.
He said in the province, there had been one pack that had dominated the region: the once 28-member Shiyane pack in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
The departure of younger pack members resulted in a cut to the pack’s numbers, but also led to a dispersal of the species over a wider area.
“The pack originally formed in (the park) in June 2009. The pack’s first litter was born in 2009 with the birth of nine pups.
“In 2010 they had 10 pups, in 2011 another 10 pups, in 2012 eight pups, but in 2013 the pack lost all their pups in the den. The cause is unknown but is presumed to be either lions or hyenas.”
He said the pack had been one of the most stable and had been a big contributor to the metapopulation (a group of populations that are separated by space, but consist of the same species).
“More specifically, dispersers from this pack have contributed to form four new packs in the park.
“Most recently, this pack has helped to form a new pack in another reserve in the province (known as Zimanga Private Game Reserve), where two males were recently moved there to bond with the existing females.”
Marneweck said the pack had been directly persecuted by humans when in August 2012, one female was killed by community members outside the southern iMfolozi gate after she and her sister dispersed from the pack and the park.
“The reason for their dispersal is that the alpha female chased them away due to the previous mating season where a subordinate dog mated successfully and produced pups. The alpha female chased these two dogs to ensure that she was the only one who mated and produced pups.”
He explained that because the pack was generally quite large, they had produced numerous dispersers that had broken out of the park in search of mating opportunities.
Specifically, the pack of 12 broke out in June 2013 (but returned shortly after).
“Thereafter they split further with six males dispersing completely after the pack returned to the park. Three of the six males were caught in November 2013 and moved to the (park) but the other three males vanished until March 2014.”
They turned up again soon after, together with two females.
“They were observed to be a single pack surviving 40km outside the park and I can confirm that currently they are denning and will soon have pups emerging from their den (a real success in the metapopulation).”
He said that after producing 37 pups over five years, most of which survived to adulthood, this pack was considered one of the most successful in the history of the park and province.
He encouraged people to get involved in the conservation of the species by reporting their sightings, with details on the sightings such as date, time, number of animals, health of the animals seen and its activity. Submit photographs to help identify the wild dogs.
“I can’t stress how important good side-profile photos are for us! Another important way to contribute is to report any illegal activities such as shootings, snarings, trade of wild dog coats and wild dogs that have been run over.
Marneweck said the body’s broad aim was to improve the status of the species through sound management strategies.
“We co-ordinate activities of both the national and provincial wild dogs advisory groups known as the Wild Dog Advisory Group of South Africa and the KZN Wild Dog Advisory Group.
“We also work in tandem with other research organisations such as the Centre for Wildlife Management at the University of Pretoria among others, to ensure our conservation efforts align with the most current research methods (and) theories.”
* For any information on dog sightings or queries, Marneweck can be contacted at [email protected] or call 082 448 1721. Kelly Marneweck (head of the Carnivore Conservation Programme) can be reached at [email protected]
Daily News