Good news and bad news for Venetia Wild Dog Pack

During August we reported that the Venetia Wild dog (Lycaon pictus) pack had denned in the north of the reserve and that researchers from both the Endangered Wildlife Trust and GVI were waiting with anticipation for Stellar, the alpha female, to move dens or otherwise show her litter to the world. This duly happened and on the 6th August the seven new pups were photographed for the first time as the packed moved down to another rocky hillside in the south-central portion of the reserve. This is unfortunately where the good news ends though, as over the following weeks the pack dwindled in number, eventually losing all of the pups and Budzatje, the alpha male. It is unknown if this was all just bad luck, or if the alpha pair made a specific bad decision that had dire consequences. Either way it all comes down to natural cause of a sort. It is thought that 5 of the 7 pups were killed by a brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) and Budzatje possibly killed in the scrap to defend them. The last two pups were killed at a different location and of unknown cause. So the remaining pack members are the alpha female, Stellar, one remaining male pup from last year’s litter, Rory, and another adult female, Fender. They are doing fine, killing successfully despite their depleted pack size and covering much of the reserve.

Good news and bad news for Venetia Wild Dog Pack