Page 26 - Dainfern Precinct Living June 2022

Nature

With fewer than 650 African wild
dogs remaining in South Africa,
this translocation and formation of
a new breeding pack contributes
towards the long-term conservation
of African wild dogs in South Africa.
It also boosts the Mabula Private
Game Reserve’s ecotourism potential,
as Mabula will become the closest
reserve to Gauteng with free-ranging
African wild dogs!
Wouter Pienaar, General Manager
Operations of Extraordinary (the
management and operating company
of Mabula Game Lodge) expressed
his delight at the addition of the wild
dog pack to the area. “The successful
collaboration with the Waterberg
Wild Dog Initiative, the Endangered
Wildlife Trust, and Rooiberg
Veterinary Services has resulted in
the introduction of a rare wildlife
attraction and this bodes well for the
future of tourism in this reserve,” he
said.
The Mabula Private Game Reserve is
located roughly two hours from the
cross Africa, it’s estimated The four dogs spent several weeks in northern suburbs of Johannesburg.
that there are only around adjacent holding bomas to facilitate Distinctly African in style, Mabula
six thousand wild dogs to social bonding and allow time for the Game Lodge offers comfortable
Abe found in their natural new pack to acclimate to the area thatch-roof accommodation with
habitat and of the 39 countries where before their release onto the reserve. luxury finishes and provides one of
they used to roam free, they are now The bonding was extremely successful, the most authentic private safari
found in only 14. Over time, they and the dogs are now roaming the experiences in close proximity to
have lost approximately 93% of their reserve as a cohesive pack. Gauteng.
historic range due to habitat loss
and encroachment of the human
population. Hazards that this species
faces include displacement of wildlife
that naturally would be their prey,
poaching and becoming a roadkill
statistic.
On Tuesday, 10 May 2022, at the
Mabula Private Game Reserve, there
was much excitement as they proudly
announced that a newly-formed pack
of four African wild dogs has been
released from their temporary holding
boma onto the reserve in the southern
part of the Waterberg. Two males and
two females have formed the second-
known breeding pack of African wild
dogs in the Waterberg.
The journey for the two males was
long, as they had naturally detached
from their resident pack in northern
Limpopo in early 2021 to go in search
of females. They travelled 330km
before arriving at Mabula in July
2021. With no suitable adult females
available in South Africa’s wild dog
metapopulation, two females in
the free-roaming Waterberg Wild
Dog population were identified for
translocation, which took place in
March 2022.

24 DPL issue 5 2022