WILD DOGS IN MASAI MARA

Wild dogs are comparatively lean and tall with outsized ears and lack dew claws. I just wanted you to have a picture of these animals so that you can easily differentiate them from hyenas, which are referred to as alternative wolves by some due to their unique coat, mostly seen recently in the northern extremities of Enonkishu, Lemek, and Ol Chorro. However, they are greatly affected by rabies due to the interaction between these wild dogs and domestic species. But this shouldn’t scare you, as a vaccination campaign has been organized for the domestic animals throughout Masai Mara, and over 752 animals were vaccinated to save the few wild dogs that had disappeared in past years. They have now resurrected and are scattered everywhere in Masai Mara National Park.
The increasing human-wild conflict, due to the expanding population living on the periphery of protected areas and habitat loss, also puts these dogs at risk of exposure to predators that hunt them down. Every fairy tale has a beautiful ending, and so it is with these dogs. Despite encountering numerous obstacles, they stand as one of the most intelligent animals in the wild world with incredible communication skills and the ability to have heart-to-heart hunting moments. They hunt blue wildebeest, gazelles, bushbucks, greater kudu, and impala together as one big family, making this process seem easy since two heads are better than one. These highly successful hunters have tremendous endurance and can run up to 37 miles per hour for more than three miles, which exhausts their prey, thanks to their long legs and large lungs. This allows them to hunt for longer hours without getting tired.
Knowing your enemy is the best weapon in battle, but wild dogs have a negative view of this, as they hate coming across their enemies, such as lions, leopards, tigers, and spotted hyenas. They have a reasonable defense point, believing that maybe they can outcompete them and eat all the prey. Before setting off for hunting, they first rally and usually use a sneeze voting system to see how many pack members are ready for breakfast, supper, or dinner. Tourists can spot these dogs in Elephant Pepper Camp, Naboisho Camp, Kicheche Bush Camp, Ol Kinyei Adventure Camp, to mention but a few.
Dog lovers, please visit Masai Mara for a wild dog safari.