Young gorilla in Rwanda.
©Bill Given

Uganda is about to raise the price of their gorilla trekking permits from $500 to $750 per person per trek during the high season of June through October and Rwanda is considering doing the same.

The gorillas are the key tourism draw for both countries and for protection of the gorillas it is necessary to limit treks to just 8 tourists per day to visit each habituated gorilla group. This means there is a very limited supply of visits to gorillas (about 100 tourists a day across both countries have the privilege) and thus expensive permits are the result. As it is one of those rare evocative experiences that could be properly characterized as priceless and the revenue is essential to the ongoing conservation of the 700 or so remaining mountain gorillas - paying the high permit costs are well worth it but as its wise to have a minimum of two treks the high cost will cause many to consider their safari choices carefully.

Recently we featured a Kwando Safaris Wild Dog Update at the Kwando Camps in Botswana and listed a few other wild dog hotspots that we were tracking. Well great news as another of our known African Wild Dog locations has puppies! This time in the Selous Game Reserve of Tanzania.

Pregnant dominant female of the Selous Impala area wild dog pack.
Photo courtesy of Adventure Camps of Tanzania

Tanzania African Wild Dog Pups On the Way

The African wild dog pack of 10 dogs that denned near Lake Manze Tented Camp last year is now denning near the neighboring Selous Impala Camp. Puppies were detected inside the den on June 19th and typically within four to five weeks they should emerge so I expect a count of the new puppies should occur in the second half of July.

Two Litters of African Wild Dog Puppies!

It appears there will be a bonus with this pack as a subordinate female is also pregnant. Generally, if a subordinate female gives birth it will be three or four weeks later than the dominant female and usually the dominant female will then crèche the new puppies into the den with her own and raise them herself. This is a great evolutionary strategy as if food is plentiful then all the puppies have a chance at success but if times are hard the dominant females puppies have a huge developmental advantage with a 3 to 4 week head start so there’s a better chance of always raising at least a few strong puppies rather than losing them all. Packs with 10 or more adults have been shown to have much higher success rates in raising young then smaller packs so things are setting up well for this pack as well as for visitors who are sure to be thrilled over the next couple months in this area of the Selous.

   

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.

   

If you visit frequently here at the Africa Safari Blog, you're probably well aware that Bill loves chimpanzee trekking. He has been to Tanzania multiple times to visit with the chimps and always finds it amazing. One of The Wild Source clients was actually kind enough to provide us with a recap of her chimpanzee trek, and Bill himself has told the story of an amazing chimanzee trekking encounter he had with a chimp back in 2008.

Mahale National Park Update

Adult Male Chimpanzee Engages in "Play" Behavior

As usual, the news from Mahale continues to be fascinating, especially with regards to chimpanzees. An adult chimpanzee male is exhibiting unusual play behavior with an infant - very extraordinary. Adult male chimpanzees rarely engage in play behavior with infants. Such behavior among chimpanzess is generally observed only among juvenilles.

The question was - was this male the father of the baby? The observers on the ground weren't entirely certain, but atypical behavior like this does point to the male being the father of the infant. DNA testing to settle the question isn't an option.

A Day in the life of a Chimpanzee

Another blog post from the Mahale blog discusses a day in the life of a Chimpanzee. Read the full blog post for the details - but I'll describe some highlights here. While chimpanzees get up early to feed, mid day activities are quite varied. Resting, sleeping, playing and removing parasites are all on the chimpanzee agenda.

   

If you're a regular reader of The Africa Safari Blog here at TheWildSource.com, you've probably read about Bill's most recent trip to Botswana which featured stops at Selinda Camp and Zarafa Camp in the Selinda Reserve among others. Bill actually provided a very detailed Selinda Camp Review - which is definitely worth reading.

Selinda Camp News

As of earlier this month, there is some news from Selinda Camp courtesy of Wilderness Safaris. Here are those highlights:

• African Wild Dogs - have been somewhat hard to find in previous months, but have been spotted and photographed regularly as of late. It even appears that the alpha female is pregnant.
• Lions - The lion pride in the area is frequently spotted with their cubs, and more may be on the way as one of the lionnesses appears to be pregnant.
• Selinda Spillway - The water is high again this year, and the Okavango Delta and Linyanti joined along the Selinda Spillway at mid month - much earlier than in 2009. The Selinda Canoe Trail is already accessible. Bill has highlighted the Selinda Canoe Trail many times on this blog, and it certainly provides an unforgettable experience.

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