Some exciting news from our monitoring team on Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park – two new litters of African Wild Dog puppies have been spotted for the first time since their mother started denning earlier this winter.
The pups have remained elusive for the last three months, but the team was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and was rewarded with an amazing first sighting of the youngsters of the Masasaneni Pack on the iMfolozi section of the Park.
No sooner had we shared this exciting news, the Munywaneni Pack in Hluhluwe decided it was their time to shine. The Wildlife ACT team of monitors and students had an incredible first sighting the Pack’s newest and youngest members.
Not to be outdone by their friends in the south of the reserve, the Munywaneni Pack moved over 8km during the morning session, making for some incredible moments.
African Wild Dog populations are dwindling across Africa and thus having large protected areas, like Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, that allow for their numbers to grow is vital in protecting the species from extinction.
Daily, our monitoring teams gather valuable information on the demographics, movements patterns and behaviours of the packs and other priority species in the park which helps inform our partners, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Endangered Wildlife Trust, to make effective management decisions to better protect these species.
We will continue to monitor these new African Wild Dog puppies and the rest of the pack closely and look forward to making meaningful contributions to African Wild Dog conservation efforts through the essential data collected throughout this process.
Learn more about the work that Wildlife ACT and partners does to help save the African Wild Dog.