African wild dogs – On the front line
Brendan Whittington-Jones
Jacana Media
EAN: 9781431421299
African wild dogs aren't the most popular of creatures. The lion, the leopard, the cheetah, the elephant and the rhino all seem to be some way ahead of the wild dog in the race for popularity (although in the case of the rhino, at least, for the wrong reasons). Conservation of this species is, therefore, somewhat of an uphill battle. This book is a great way for many kinds of reader to cut their conservationist teeth and get to grips with the challenges faced on a daily basis by those trying to protect and nurture wild dogs in South Africa.
There are currently around 6 600 wild dogs in Africa, but fewer than 450 in South Africa itself – "South Africa's rarest carnivore". In the Kruger National Park the numbers have dropped from 434 wild dogs in 1996 to a mere 140 in 2009. Concerted conservation efforts have seen those numbers stabilise and, in some cases, grow a little. Brendan Whittington-Jones provides a blow by blow account of how those efforts are carried out, sometimes with gritted teeth.
At times readers may find themselves cringing on behalf of the wild dogs: landowners taking the law into their own hands, bombing the site of a wild dog den, getting away with no consequences because of red tape – leaving an entire pack dead, which is no small blow considering the numbers conservationists are working with. Not only that, but smaller organisations seem to be at odds with the powers that be: Whittington-Jones writes that "upper echelons of government agencies in South Africa are rarely in the hands of passionate, effective conservationists". Several other times the conservationists seem to find themselves in the middle of an endless blame game, with farmers and people in villages neighbouring national parks pointing the finger at wild dogs every time a goat or cow is killed by a predator of any ilk.
"It's bloody tough for animals to exist in the bush," writes Whittington-Jones, and the reader is shown abundant evidence of this: snares placed by poachers are especially dangerous for wild dogs, as are attacks by other predators such as cheetahs and hyenas. Indeed, the entire conservation effort seems to be fraught with obstacles – political, practical and social: "Much of modern conservation seems to be navigating political pitfalls, defusing mini-battles, stroking egos and tolerating ignorance," writes the author.
That is not to say it is all doom and gloom. The wild dogs provide wild entertainment, while conservationists run circles around them in attempts to organise the packs to nurture the best potential outcomes from pregnancies and dispersals (wild dogs leaving their territories). All the packs have names, as do the individual dogs within the packs, and the author and his colleagues seem to develop quite a relationship with the animals as they follow and study them. For example, while chasing a dog called Bambisa, the conservationists are waylaid by red herrings and the wild dog's stratagems. "He provided us with fascinating data, heartburn and plenty of vehicle mileage," writes Whittington-Jones.
Wild dogs are, by their very nature, just that: wild - hunting in packs, with their favoured method of killing their prey being to disembowel it. They are, also, "not renowned for their fastidious housekeeping", and much is written about the pungent odour that follows them everywhere.
Truly, however, the conservationists often find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to "promoting" this species for protection. Sadly, this is the case although it ought never to be so. The author writes, "If it came down to a financial crunch, trophy hunting lions was always a more profitable option when compared to wild dog viewing," and as of yet that is still to be disproved.
African wild dogs – On the front line is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of this country or in the future of this planet. It brings stark realisations that man is still now actively encroaching on the territory and safety of wild animals. It is a story of wild dogs' "desperate battle for relevance".
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