Venetia Limpopo Wild Dog update
It's a shame to get our new blog going on a sombre note, but the Venetia Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) pack have had a tough last couple of weeks and this means that the research teams tracking them will have a tough time of it too! It started last week when Arno and his research team picked up signal for the two collared dogs in different areas of the reserve, a sure sign that all was not well. Carrat was up in the rocky hills near Hilda reservoir and there was no access at all for the teams to get in there. His signal didn't move from there for three days, so the head researcher for the Endangered Wildlife Trust took the decision to go on foot and look for him, fearing the worst. After carefully picking her way up the koppie, Wendy got the signal down to full strength but still with no visual- he should have been under her feet, and normally would have broken from cover so she could see him. But still no visual and the telemetry was of no further use at that stage. The decision was made to return in the morning with more daylight to start looking in caves and overhangs for a carcass or the collar.
They duly did so and eventually found a slightly chewed collar with no sign of poor Carrat. Cause of death unknown. So the pack is now down to four animals including one pup from last year. Stellar, the alpha female, is heavily pregnant and has recently returned to the Hilda Koppies, possibly looking for a den site, she's going to pop soon and we hope there are many pups so that the pack can regain some stability on the reserve.
0 comments:
Post a Comment