Conservationists have stepped in to help African wild dogs meet their mates.
The best way to introduce unrelated wild dogs, it seems, is to run a con — rubbing them against one another while they’re sedated, before letting them meet.. When they wake up, they pick up the scent and believe they belong to a new pack.
That’s according to wildlife biologist Cole du Plessis, whose work to restore the dog populations in Southern Africa has seen 30 new packs bond.
And when Du Plessis, 31, isn’t rubbing wild dogs together, he’s ensuring the survival of SA’s most endangered carnivore as head of the Wild Dog Range Expansion Project for the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The NPO is dedicated to conserving threatened species and ecosystems in east and Southern Africa.
There are only about 550 wild dogs in SA, half of them in the Kruger National Park, 220 in reserves outside the park, which form part of the project, and about 80 to 100 in Waterberg, Limpopo.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, wild dogs are extinct in 25 of the 39 African countries they once roamed.
Their near-demise is a result being persecuted as vermin and their habitat being fragmented, with little suitable land left.
“Even in protected areas the surrounding human population is a threat by way of disease introduction, poaching, roadkill and deliberate persecution [they are often killed to prevent threats to livestock].
“These threats ... are somewhat manageable with intensive monitoring and ongoing fundraising efforts. What’s less manageable is the size of safe space given to the species to succeed. It’s only around 2% [of SA].”
If conditions aren’t right the animals roam, exposing them to potential harm. When wild dogs reach sexual maturity, same-sex groups leave the pack to find new mates. What Du Plessis and his team do is speed up the process by placing the wandering groups together to create new packs.
“We step in and play Cupid.
“Once captured, the dogs are sedated and we physically rub them together. They exchange scents, which would happen naturally when they meet.
“The newly formed pack will then stay in a temporary holding for another eight to 12 weeks so that they can build pack cohesion.
“Once they start eating, resting and running around together you know they are ready to be released. Then the hope is they will mate and expand the pack.”
The trust has partnered with the Gorongosa Project, African Parks, Peace Parks and other conservation organisations to establish three million hectares in 13 locations for the dogs’ reintroduction in Southern Africa.
Now they have successfully stabilised the population in SA, the country is ready for cross-border relocation, said Du Plessis.
The first occurred in 2018 when a pack was flown to Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique, where wild dogs have been extinct since the country’s civil war.
The initial 29-member pack now numbers 90. In 2019 13 were relocated to Karingani Game Reserve in Mozambique. That population has doubled.
This unusual courting method has created interest among other conservationists, resulting in Du Plessis featuring in an episode of Mission Wild, hosted by US biologist Wes Larson.
Dr David Mills, carnivore conservation programme manager at the trust, said with only about 1,500 mature, breeding wild dogs left in the world, the project’s work was critical.
“Over the next few years we aim to restore wild dogs to several million hectares of rewilded landscapes from Mozambique to Rwanda. In doing so we are ensuring that these beautiful animals, with their strong and supportive family bonds, will amaze and inspire us for generations to come.”
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