Comments on: Photo safari – African hunting dogs

By: Monado, FCD

Monado, FCD — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:50:06 +0000

I believe I read a few years ago that their numbers are sadly diminished in Africa. I hope that they are not going to vanish from the wild!

By: FrauTech

FrauTech — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:31:12 +0000

This reminds me when I was at the local zoo and there was some bird exhibit there. A local crane or something had flown into the cage and was sitting alongside similarly sized but completely different looking birds natural to the exhibit. I heard somebody looking at the exhibit sign and say “uhh, that white one must be the female.” *headdesk*

By: Blackbird

Blackbird — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:08:43 +0000

They look in excellent shape for zoo wild dogs! Many zoo carnivores used to lots of exercise in the wild are often fat in zoos and are a poor sight. I am yet to see a healthy bunch of zoo meerkats, either they are overfed or they don’t have enough space to roam.

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:42:22 +0000

The dogs are also always active. I’ve never been without seeing them up and about. The Komodo dragons, by contrast, are usually disappointing. After much fanfare, a winding path, and various scary placards, you usually see a tail sticking out of a bush. Admittedly, a very large tail but still…

By: Zach Miller

Zach Miller — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:52:31 +0000

Ah, see, I saw these guys at the London zoo while I was there last year. Beautiful animals. I watched them wander around in their pen…they reminded me of the wolves we have in the Anchorage zoo, only cuter. The 80% kill rate is fantastic–what are the big cats doing wrong?

By: Will

Will — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:18:10 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I made it to ZSL London Zoo for the first time in ages last August, just at the end of the heatwave, and while I was really there to see the Komodo Dragons and the Galapagos tortoises, the African Hunting dogs were easily the highlight of the visit.
They’re such beautifully charismatic animals; and smart too. I couldn’t get over the fact that one of them was clearly as interested in me as I was in them. It was pacing me as I moved along the edge of the enclosure, watching me with obvious curiosity, and whenever I looked back it’s whole posture changed into one I interpreted as friendly submission; much like, say, a pet dog. I didn’t want to freak it out so I tried not to stare back too much (plus I wasn’t certain of my interpretation of it’s stance; you can’t necessarily assume that their body language is the same as a domestic dog’s,) but it was hard not to be entranced by it. Zoo animals are usually so jaded by the millions of gawking humans that walk by their enclosure that the best you get is a casual glance, but here was a mostly wild predator (if the electric fences and feeding zip-line are anything to go by) interacting socially with me. It’s the sort of thrill that makes going to the zoo so worthwhile.
When I got back from that trip, I was inspired to pick up Roger & Pat de la Harpe’s ‘In Search of the African Wild Dog’ from Amazon. It took six months to be delivered, but is a great read with some amazing photography; I can heartily recommend it for anyone interested in these amazing, but sadly endangered animals.