By Maripet Koipa, Guide - Chada Katavi Wild dogs are animals that hunt by day and sometimes by moonlight. They migrate a lot during times when food is hard to find. Their home range is anything from 200-700 square kilometres, but may be less depending on the density of the prey. The pack has from 3-10 adults with several pups.
Wild dogs are endurance animals: they can run down their prey for up to 5km at a speed of over 40kph. When dogs catch small sized prey like impala or gazelle, wild dogs dismember the animal within minutes. Rarely, they will catch large sized animals like zebra, wildebeest. It may take time for these animals to die, so some people may think wild dogs are cruel hunters.
Big animals like zebra and wildebeest get held by one dog around the mouth, and the rest of the dogs attack from the rear end, killing the prey.
Wild dogs are very successful hunters but competition from other predators like lions, leopards, hyenas is very high. In Katavi, the density of lions and hyenas is fairly high, which may mean that wild dogs here need to have a larger area to hunt in.
We do see wild dogs from time to time in Katavi, where their favoured prey is impala. Although we haven’t seen them for a few weeks, it is denning season, meaning that they will not be moving around much as the newborn pups are too small. Hopefully, we will soon be seeing the pack again, with some youngsters.
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