Africa's Wild Dogs E-Book

Jocelin Kagan

• Herausgeber: Merlin Unwin Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 112

Beschreibung

There are roughly 6,600 wild dogs left in Africa yet they have cast such a spell on top wildlife photographer and naturalist Jocelin Kagan that she is determined to help save them.  If left to their own devices, they are more than capable of thriving, as this sumptuous photographic natural history shows. Jocelin has called in world experts to add their latest findings about these resourceful, graceful and highly skilled family groups. Nomadic predators whose territories range thousands of kilometres, they hunt co-operatively, preying on small herbivores. Non-confrontational, they form complex bonds as this book reveals. Now restricted to small populations and threatened by some shoot-to-kill policies, habitat fragmentation, diseases from domestic dogs, climate change and snares, as well as natural predation from hyenas and lions, Africa's wild dogs will be supported by all the royalties from this book.

Leseprobe

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Dedication

For Tamerine and Maggie-Dash

And my great nieces and nephews Leora, Sophia, Emma, Alex and Daniel

Speak out loudly for the animals of the planet, without them our world lacks spirit.

Contents

Title PageDedicationFOREWORD Mike Gunton Creative Director BBC Natural History UnitINTRODUCTION Jocelin Kagan celebrates the iconic nomads of the bushveldSECTION ONEFAMILY MATTERS The social dynamics of a wild dog packGrowing Up A new generation of puppies is cared for by the packPlay is Pivotal Fun, frolics and learning togetherThe chase A savvy wildebeest turns the tablesKeeping in touch Dr Peter Apps explores how wild dog packs communicate in a vast environmentUnited in grief Mourning the loss of a family memberSECTION TWOMALIGNED MISUNDERSTOOD & ENDANGERED Human perceptions and wild dog survivalSneeze to leave Reena Walker explains a unique process of decision-makingOff to hunt The pack pursues an impalaHot dogs The effects of climate change on wild dogsHyaena v Wild Dog The dynamics and differencesBaboon hunt An anomaly in a wild dog’s dietSnared Dr Rosemary Groom describes the devastation wreaked by wire snaresCompetition and connectivity Professor Scott Creel explores competition and connectivityPainted Wolf Conservancy Nick Murray explains how protecting elephants saves wild dogsGrowing wild dog populations Dr Harriet T Davies-Mostert reports on reintroductions and translocations; Dr Dave Druce describes hands-on managementCuriosity A close encounter initiated by wild dogsAcknowledgementsBibliographyAlso Published by Merlin Unwin BooksCopyright

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Foreword

Mike Gunton

Creative Director, BBC Natural History Unit

African wild dogs, or painted wolves as they are sometimes called, are smart, sociable hunters. Many people, myself included, see them as charismatic, enterprising and impressive – animals that deserve their place in the pantheon of great African predators. Yet, for many years wild dogs have been subject to a very bad press – seen as vermin and a threat to livestock, they have suffered relentless persecution. As a result their future is under threat – today their numbers have declined to less than 6,600 individuals.

Although I’ve watched wild dogs on many occasions I only really got to know them during the making of the recent BBC TV series Dynasties. As a wildlife film-maker I’m always on the lookout for stories that will bring new insights into the natural world. Since my early years at the BBC’s Natural History Unit I wanted to tell the stories of individual animals, rather than create more general narratives about a species. In this way I think audiences feel more engaged, more invested, and as a result they come to understand more about an animal’s life and the challenges it faces. Dynasties was the perfect opportunity to take this approach to its logical conclusion and devote a whole episode to following the lives of a single family of animals.

In many ways Dynasties was a risky project and making the right choice of subject for each film was critical. Initially, there was some nervousness about selecting painted wolves (as we referred to them) as the stars of an episode. But it seemed to me that this was the perfect chance to, at last, give this photogenic animal the worldwide audience it deserved. Quite soon we realised it was the right choice – once you train the lens on these animals you can’t tear yourself away – and it was gratifying to see that the audience of the finished film seemed to feel the same way too. Wild dogs do get under your skin!

There is no doubt that is true for photographer Jocelin Kagan. I had the pleasure of meeting Jocelin at the launch of the Painted Wolves episode in Zimbabwe. The obvious enthusiasm she had for photographing the dogs was similar in spirit to the approach we take when shooting for television – always on the look-out for those magical moments when, thanks to the camera and the skill of the photographer, you can enter into the private world of a particular animal and learn to appreciate just how extraordinary and inspirational they are.

Since our first meeting, Jocelin has impressed me with the way she has continued to celebrate the dogs through her photography. The result is Africa’s Wild Dogs – A Survival Story. It is a labour of love and its release is a landmark moment for a photographer with the best interests of her subject at heart. That Jocelin intends all royalties from the book to go towards protecting the dogs through her new foundation, Africa’s Wild Dog Survival Fund, is testament to her approach.

I am delighted to be given the opportunity to write in support of Jocelin’s work, which I’m convinced will add to a growing call for the future of wild dogs to be protected.

Jocelin’s tenacity in the field, her discerning eye for remarkable images, together with an array of experts she has invited to add further insight, ensures that in this lovely book we can now all enjoy better understanding of the lives of one of Africa’s great predators. 9

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If you reveal your secret life to me

I can show the world your strength and beauty

Caring mother that you are

Secret hunter super star

You will help to set me free

John Varty11

INTRODUCTION

‘Did I feel afraid? Not at all. I felt exhilaration cruising through my veins at having these predators so close to me.’

Iconic Nomads of the Bushveld

Jocelin Kagan

Curious, inquisitive, painterly-patterned in rich black, white and tan, a young pup steps closer and closer. Satisfied he is safe, he sits, sphinx-like and watches me. At five months, this African wild dog pup projects a tangible sense of self-assurance despite his youth. His huge ears turn like satellite dishes searching for a signal as he looks deep into my eyes. His own dark eyes seem to ask, ‘Who are you?’

Reluctant to disturb my new friend, and even more so to fracture the fragility of our newly-formed bond, I lie flat in the dirt, camera poised, and press the trigger. Unperturbed, and as if expecting me to embark on a portrait shoot, the pup poses, turning his head, giving me his best profile. The result is the cover shot of this book.

He is not alone. Two of his litter-mates take their cue from him, creep closer and sit. He’s clearly the leader of the three. His eyes gleam with extraordinary interest and awareness. He looks, sniffs the air and it seems he would be tempted to come closer still, had a short, quiet bark from a nearby adult not warned him against it.

Did I feel afraid? Not at all. I felt exhilaration coursing through my veins at having these predators so close to me. More so, I felt humbled that they had chosen this proximity of their own volition. Questions raced through my mind. Is this wild predator something to be feared? Why are they so calm in my presence? How come they just mind their own business, while keeping me in their line of sight? Why do they not attack me? I keep watching, but get no answers to my questions.

From deep silence within, a realisation forms and is to shape a new chapter in my life. My ‘aha’: a moment of illumination, when emotion and intellect come together in the same flash, showing me a plan unfolding in which I would take an active part in helping reverse the wild dogs’ diminishing numbers. Through a book, talks and photographs, I could share my passion and knowledge of the wild dogs’ story with animal lovers worldwide. Animals everywhere, I believe, deserve a deeper and greater respect than they currently receive.

My love of photographing wildlife has awakened in me a deep respect for the animals of our planet. Over the years I’ve learned to read their ways, listen to their conversations, observe behaviours and accept their table manners. I am extremely fortunate to have experienced many close encounters with a wide range of wild creatures. I’ve met elephants in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, and felt 13the exploring touch of an enormous matriarch’s trunk. I’ve stared in awe as a heavily-maned lion waded through belly-high water in Botswana to follow his lionesses. I’ve lugged kilos of camera equipment across crevasses and broken ice in -40°C in Antarctica to photograph emperor penguins and their chicks, and I’ve braced myself against a blizzard in north-east Canada photographing polar bear mothers with their mischievous cubs. I’ve loved each of these encounters more than I can express, but it is the African wild dog that has captured my heart. I grew up with domestic dogs, and bred Cairn terriers, so I guess it comes as no surprise that the wild animal I feel closest to is a canine.

An African wild dog is an animal that goes by many names – African painted dogs, painted wolves, African hunting dogs, Cape hunting dogs and more. Generally people in Africa refer to them as African wild dogs, while the international community know them as painted wolves.

So is it a dog or a wolf? The scientific classification has caused historic confusion and is the subject of ongoing debate. Back in the 1820s, Dutch zoologist Coenraad Temminck, Director of the Leiden Museum, erroneously declared the hyaena and wild dog to belong to the same genus and named it Hyaena picta (painted hyaena). Seven years later, British naturalist Joshua Brookes reclassified the wild dog as a canid, renaming it Lycaon tricolor (Lycaon from the Greek meaning wolf-like and tricolor the Latin for its three-coloured coat). Later the pictus was returned to the dog. The argument whether this is ‘wolf’ or ‘dog’ continues.

I’ll leave the taxonomy discussion to the scientists. To me, ‘the dogs are born who they are and that is that’. It is we humans who cast judgement on them, classify and box them, and attempt to manage them.

My message is more urgent: firstly, the dogs are beautiful, intelligent, iconic animals – integral to the ecosystems of the African bush. They are nomadic predators, ranging across thousands of kilometres, cooperatively hunting both large and small antelopes and other herbivores. As the body of research into the wild dog grows, we are constantly learning just what remarkable, non-confrontational, inquisitive and self-determined predators they are. Their complex social structure bonds members of their family, helping to ensure their survival and their dynasty. 14

‘… racing across the bush with wild dogs awoke something regenerative in me.’

Secondly, that they are in trouble. African wild dogs once ranged widely in large packs throughout sub-Saharan Africa, now they are restricted to small populations in a few countries in southern Africa, some of which are declining rapidly.

Lycaon pictus was classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016. Despite declarations of legal protection, wild dogs today still face a multitude of threats. The historic impact of deliberate eradication is now combined with many contemporary pressures. These include a ‘shoot to kill’ policy from some farmers, habitat fragmentation, diseases from domestic dogs, climate change, accidentally being trapped in snares set for the bushmeat trade, and direct predation from growing populations of other larger, more aggressive predators such as lion and hyaena. There are only around 6,600 African wild dogs left in the world – a decline that cannot continue. This is why three friends and I have created a registered non-profit organisation: Africa’s Wild Dog Survival Fund, which will receive all royalties from sales of this book and proceeds from my photography exhibitions and talks. We believe there is an urgent need to reappraise perceptions of wild dogs and awaken a global awareness of their plight and a desire to ensure their survival.

Through Africa’s Wild Dogs – A Survival Story, I show and share what I have experienced and what I have learnt about African wild dogs. I have spent time together with them in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Tanzania. I’ve always felt comfortable with the dogs, there is an affinity there – I’m unafraid and they seem happy to be up close. I’ve watched their lives and come to know them, even some as individual characters which I know by name. I watched the tender moments as they rear their pups, the joy when they meet and greet each other, the visceral thrill of the chase as they hunt.

It gives me an extraordinary sense of freedom to be out there in the wild with the dogs. I’m a city girl – and here I am, experiencing the 15buzz and excitement of running over the bushveld struggling to trail the dogs. I’m of the age when I should be calming down, but racing across the dust with wild dogs awoke something regenerative in me.

The more I observe, the more I learn. My professional background has trained me to be observant of humans, and I apply that skill to wildlife watching. I see the micromovements of the dogs – their expressive eyes, the muscular tension rippling under their painterly coat, the head and tail positions and the eloquence of those enormous ears. I’m listening, too. Though the dogs are generally very quiet, I’m learning to discern the range and meanings of their soft vocalisations.