I am super excited to report that I saw wild dogs on the 21st of February in Samburu National Reserve! This was the 4th time I have seen wild dogs, but by far this was the best sighting I have had. Prior to this, I have only seen them at night and dashing across the road. This time, I was able to have a good look at them and watch them cross the road behind me chasing dikdiks. There were 7 dogs in total and a few of them were youngish pups.
Wild dogs are endangered and numbers have fallen to only a few thousand in Africa, mainly due to habitat loss and hunting. Here, the wild dogs use the area to move between Laikipia and Samburu Districts, but it now appears they may be resident somewhere in the area; between the reserve and West Gate Community Conservancy. On the 19th of February, they were in West Gate and I saw them a few days later in Samburu Reserve.
With only a few hundred wild dogs remaining in the Samburu-Laikipia ecosystem (their numbers are increasing), I feel totally privileged to have seen a few of them.
Below are a few photos of some of the dogs that I saw.
