African wild dog puppies emerge from the den when they are about 4 weeks old.
Photo courtesy of Kwando Safaris
Kwando Lagoon Camp = African Wild Dogs
Whenever I get inquiries about seeing African wild dogs the first place I mention for an itinerary is always the Kwando Concession with Lagoon Camp and Lebala Camp. Visiting Kwando Lagoon Camp during the denning season has proven to be as close to guaranteed African wild dog sightings as one can find as they have regularly denned there year after year.
African Wild Dogs at Kwando Lebala Too
Because the wild dogs are so far ranging, sightings are frequent in the Lebala area as well but this year Lebala has a den too! Fortunately, later this month and in the coming two months we have quite a few clients on their way to the Kwando concession camps and they should get to enjoy the incredible interactions between wild dog puppies and the members of their pack.
Lebala has puppies and Kwando Lagoon’s look to be on the way.
Photo courtesy of Kwando Safaris
Kwando Lebala Camp African Wild Dog Den
There is currently a wild dog den located close to Lebala Camp. This is a small pack of four adult dogs but they currently have nine pups that are estimated to be ten weeks old.
African Wild Dog Den at Kwando Lagoon Camp
The pregnant dominant female of the Lagoon Pack has denned and not been seen for over a week now indicating that she has likely given birth and the puppies should emerge above ground in the next 3 to 4 weeks. This den is north of the airstrip, only about 15 minutes from the camp.Other African Wild Dog Dens.
Other African Wild Dog Dens
As we are getting into the heart of the denning season in many locations more news on dens should come to light soon. A few areas of note that we are keeping tabs on:
- Mapula Lodge, Okavango Delta, Botswana – Has had four litters in the last three years and reportedly had dens for years before those when it was known as Modumo Lodge. I was fortunate to be at Mapula when there was two different litters four months apart in age leading to some fascinating behaviors that I chronicled in Africa Geographic.
- Chitabe/Sandibe, Okavano Delta, Botswana – There have been many dens in this area over the last decade. I was able to see a large litter of puppies here last year and with excellent recruitment from that litter the pack now numbers 22 dogs.
- Lake Manze Camp, Selous, Tanzania - The Selous is known for a large wild dog population but reliability of sightings has not been on par with Botswana. Last year denning dogs thrilled visitors to Lake Manze and Selous Impala Camps and I’m hoping this becomes a consistent den area.
- Sosian Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya - Most people do not realize there is excellent wild dog viewing in Kenya since they are extremely rare in the Masai Mara area. For those willing to travel a little further afield, wild dogs have denned in the Sosian area during July the last two years and based on frequent sightings in the area I expect this year will be the third in a row. There are actually two packs currently around Sosian, 18 and 26! dogs respectively.
Get The Roar! - TheWildSource.com's monthly newsletter.
The Wild Source's Africa Video Channel - safari videos taken by The Wild Source founder Bill Given