Mabula Private Game Reserve celebrated the arrival of African wild dogs to the reserve after a newly formed pack of four wild dogs was released from their boma on 10 May.
This new pack is made up of two males and two females, forming the second known breeding pack of wild dogs in the Waterberg.
The males naturally dispersed from their resident pack in northern Limpopo in early 2021 in search of females and travelled 330km before arriving in Mabula in July 2021.
With no suitable adult females available in South Africa’s wild dog metapopulation, two females in the free-roaming Waterberg Wild Dog population were identified for translocation.
The two females were translocated just prior to their dispersal from their natal pack in the northern part of the Waterberg in March 2022 to Mabula to be bonded with the males.
The four dogs spent several weeks in adjacent holding bomas to facilitate social bonding and allow time for the new pack to acclimate to the area before their release onto the reserve. The bonding was extremely successful, and the dogs are now roaming the reserve as a cohesive pack.
With fewer than 650 African wild dogs remaining in South Africa, this translocation and formation of a new breeding pack contribute toward the long-term conservation of African wild dogs in South Africa.
It also boosts the Mabula Private Game Reserve’s eco-tourism potential, as Mabula will become the closest reserve to Gauteng with free-ranging African wild dogs.
Pictures: Supplied
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