I recently had a request for some more wild dog photos, so I spent some time this evening going through the photos I took back in April 2013 when I was lucky enough to see them in Botswana. I had dismissed many of the photos when I originally took them, as the light was rather difficult, but what a difference a year makes. I have more skills in editing now, and am able to correct things that I wasn’t able to just a short time ago. I didn’t have time to go through all the photos I flagged this evening, so if you are a betting person, you can put money on the fact that you’ll see more of this group later in the week
Torn ears and a face full of flies. 1/400sec, f5.3, ISO1600A group of wild dogs rests in the shade, away from the mid afternoon heat, at Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana. 1/500sec, f5.3, ISO1600I have no idea what they might have saw, heard, or smelled, but it certainly captivated the attention of the group. 1/640sec, f4.8, ISO800A wild dog heads away from the pack. 1/1000sec, f4.5, ISO800
This African Pied Wagtail most have gotten tired of flying, as it caught a ride on our boat during our river cruise along the Chobe. 1/1000sec, f4.8, ISO640
Decent photos of kingfishers elude me to this day! This is as good as it gets, so far. An African Pied Kingfisher along the Chobe River. 1/400sec, f5.3, ISO100
I couldn’t have timed this better had I tried – I love the symmetry of their position and the shadows being cast by their beaks. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO100
Before I left for my first trip to Africa, people would ask me what I was most looking forward to seeing. Of course, I would say “Everything!”. I enjoy nature, love watching wildlife and birds, and enjoy traveling and seeing new places, so I really was looking forward to seeing everything. When pressed though, I would admit I would really love to see a baby elephant, and wild dogs.
As we were traveling to the Zambezi River and a taking a day trip into Botswana, I knew the chances of seeing a baby elephant (or many baby elephants as it would turn out) was quite high. In talking to people though, wild dogs seemed very unlikely. My ranger at Londolozi explained that for private reserves, unless the wild dogs den on the site, viewings are very rare because the wild dogs travel over great distances, and are a threatened species, so there are not many of them to see. She also told me of more than one group she knew of that had been on several safaris, never to see the elusive wild dogs.
In Botswana, we spent a lovely morning on a boat cruise, viewing elephants, hippos, water buffaloes, crocodiles and loads of different types of birds. In the afternoon, we went for a game drive in Chobe Park, allowing us to get much closer to the elephants. Our lovely guide Mike pulled over early in the drive to read a text message sent by another guide, and told us that wild dogs had had a kill the previous day in the area, and would likely still be near the water hole – would we like to try and find them? I answered yes for the group and we went off on an hours trek, up to the water hole, following their last tracks, over to their kill site – which by this point was nothing more than a pile of bones being fought over by vultures.
Just as we were giving up hope of seeing them, another guide had found their position, and a few minutes later, we were sitting amongst a pack of wild dogs – 18 in total. They were enjoying the shade, trying to beat the mid afternoon heat and digest the large meal they had recently had. The lighting was unfortunate for photography, but the experience was simply amazing.
African Wild Dog, April 2013African Wild Dogs April 2013
This photo was taken April 2013 while on a safari boat cruise at the Chobe Marina Lodge in Botswana.
I was lucky enough to travel for two weeks in Southern Africa with my parents, and on this morning, we saw many breeding herds of elephants. This baby spent a great deal of time in the river playing. She was rolling in the river, submerging herself and sticking her trunk up, spraying water around – generally behaving like a small child having a great deal of fun on a warm, late summer day.
I took hundreds of photos that day. Actually, probably closer to a thousand, but this view remains my favourite. Seeing mama and baby in perfect step with one another, heading off to a new area to graze and play, was amazing to view in person. Looking back at it now brings a smile to my face.
