Seeing any predators in action is an amazing sighting, but African wild dogs are one of the most successful predators out there, with a higher percentage chance of their hunts succeeding than rivals like lions or leopards.
Andre Fourie and the tour he was leading had set out from Waterside Lodge in Royal Malewane with the intention of spotting some male lions that they knew were in the area. Instead of big cats, they sighted these wild dogs.
Andre sent the video footage and the details of their encounter to Latest Sightings. Tourists and their guides can never be sure of what they’ll see when they go out on safari, and nature will always find a way to surprise and amaze.
Big Cats And Deadly Dogs
Along with his tracker, Chriswell, Andre was eventually unable to pick up the trail of the male lions they’d been looking for due to the weather conditions. He said the “wind was so bad that all tracks and other evidence were destroyed”.
As the shadows were starting to lengthen, the group was heading to a place where they could have a drink for the evening, when they passed a watering hole, and realized that they were going to see predators at work after all.
According to Andre, they “saw 3 wild dogs running to the water” as they approached, and quickly saw that the clever canines had trapped an impala in the dam. Knowing that the hunt was already nearly over, they pulled up the vehicle and settled in to watch.
Going For A Swim
The dogs were slightly hesitant about actually going into the water, but one of them did wade out to leap on the impala and close its sharp teeth around it. The impala seemed to be alive as the dog approached, but the killing blow was instant.
With the impala dead, the only task that remained was to drag the carcass to the shore so that the rest of the pack could enjoy the meal. The brave dog that had dared the water dragged it most of the way.
As it got closer to the shore the rest of the pack decided that they should probably help, and another dog ran to take the impala by the other end and lessen the load. A third appeared to start feeding, and Andre warned his guests that it was going to be graphic.
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Let The Feast Begin
With the impala carcass safely away from the water, there was no time to waste tucking into the meal it provided. They continued to drag it a little further up the shore while eating it, but soon they set about enjoying the meal.
The sight was indeed gruesome, as the dogs ate with gusto, yanking hunks of meat from the impala as quickly as they could and pulling the remains between them in their eagerness to eat as much as possible in a short time.
They didn’t know how long they might have before another predator, intrigued by the sounds of a hunt, might come looking and fight them off the food they’d caught.
There were a total of five wild dogs that took part in the feast, and they reportedly polished off the impala in less than five minutes. Sightings like this might be gruesome, or difficult to watch, but they show what life is like for these animals, and the grisly ways in which it can end.
