African Wild Dog Conservation. Project Sponsors.


 

News Update June - September 2008.

It’s late September, and as the mighty Luangwa continues to draw down, boisterous hippos jockey for positions in its bends, and the stifling heat begins to envelop the valley - it’s time to retreat to the shade, fend off the tsetse flies, and write a new newsletter! 

With the onset of the dry season and the start of the denning period in June we have enjoyed a considerable amount of wild dog activity in South Luangwa and the adjacent areas that has kept the project very busy; at one point in August we found 5 new packs in the span of little over a week!  While successful collaring efforts unfortunately lag behind the pace of these sightings, the apparent resurgence of dogs in certain areas such as the Nsefu sector, where they had not been regularly sighted for years, is a very promising sign.  The first of the new packs for this season has also become mobile with their pups after 3 months of denning, and we expect to see other packs following suite in the next few weeks. 

African wild dog puppies.

  

A puppy licks his lips with anticipation of milk from mum, only to discover it's his uncle who is standing nearby!

The sightings of dogs in these areas, often on the interface of protected and unprotected areas, will give the newly-established African Wild Dog Anti-Snaring Team the opportunity to apply their skills in finding and removing snares in areas of high-risk for wild dogs (Click here to read all about the Anti-Snaring Team).  Davis, Edgar, Isaac, and Johnathon graduated from a gruelling 3 month military style training course in July and have already completed several successful anti-snaring patrols.  Such work is critical as the dry season brings dramatic increases in the amount of snared animals that are observed.

Below: An immobilized young male dog with a snare on its paw.  The animal was euthanized, as the severity of the injury had diminished its body condition beyond recovery and resulted in an attack from another predator that left bite marks and infection throughout its neck.

August also marked the start of our annual carnivore and prey surveys, conducted since 2000 in Lower Zambezi and since 2005 in South Luangwa.  In addition to the databases of individual lions that the project maintains, these carnivore surveys not only supplement this information but also provide important data on the density of hyaenas and lions across different habitats.  Thus many night hours were spent huddled next to loudspeakers in the back of the vehicles as they blasted the soothing sounds of squealing pigs, bawling buffalo, and laughing hyaenas designed to attract carnivores. As expected, these playbacks attract many hyaenas and lions, but also a surprising number of leopards and even at one point some wild dogs briefly stopped by to see what the commotion was about. The number of hyaenas responding to a call-in allows us to establish a density for the area so we can compare between years, across habitats, and against densities of other carnivores.


Lower Zambezi ZAWA ecologist, Jassiel Msoka, during the Lower Zambezi AWDC Surveys.

  

ZAWA Scout and assistant to the ZAWA Ecologist,Trevor Silwamba, enjoying our temporary campsite during the South Luangwa AWDC Surveys

The prey surveys are also still underway in South Luangwa, having been completed in Lower Zambezi.  We employ distance sampling techniques to account for differences in visibility across habitats and the work consists of driving transects and counting, sexing, and aging all herbivores sighted (from warthogs to elephants), from which we eventually obtain a density estimate for the particular habitat.  While the data is still being analysed we can safely say impala are doing just fine! 

A pack of wild dogs in Nsefu sector on a fresh bushbuck kill.

Also a big thank-you to all the operators, guides and volunteers in both parks who assisted and participated in these carnivore and prey surveys; it was a very productive and enjoyable time and your help is greatly appreciated.

In other news AWDC has been working with guides from both South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi to launch a guide-run cooperative carnivore monitoring program for both parks.  Read all about The Luangwa Valley Carnivore Monitoring Program here!

For our Australian supporters, Project Founder and Trustee, Kellie Leigh, is presenting

"CONTINENTAL DRIFT"

An exhibition of wildlife and landscape paintings from Africa and Australia

Open Daily: 10am – 4.30pm, Saturday 4th to Monday 6th October 2008

Where: The Moreton Room, North Sydney Community Centre , 220 Miller St North Sydney (behind Stanton Library).  www.northsydneycentre.com.au

All sales throughout the exhibition will contribute to AWDC's wildlife conservation efforts. Visit Kellie's website (Bushpalette) for more information or contact details.

Thank you for your continuing support,

The AWDC Team!

A leopard on an impala kill.

  

A friendly elephant helps AWDC unpack their monthly supply shopping