An Epic Encounter between African Painted Dogs and Hyenas – Londolozi Blog

Stopping for a coffee during a morning game drive is always great, especially on a chilly winter morning. During this quality time off the vehicle and in the comfort of the bushveld, guests, as well as guides and trackers, share their past wildlife stories with each other. Just the other day, after another exciting game drive, we parked our vehicle under a big Natal mahogany tree for a break. As the coffee began to brew and its sweet aroma filled the cool air, a question was asked of my tracker, Joy, “What is your favourite sighting?”

Joy’s response was simple. “Any sighting where there is a pack of wild dogs and hyenas interacting”

Joy is very good at mimicking and reenacting the sounds made by wild dogs and hyenas as they fight over a carcass. This can be very entertaining to watch, and much to the delight of the guests, he will continue to make the amusing noises until we are all in fits of laughter.

After discussing the memorable sightings Joy and I have witnessed over the past three years between these two fascinating predators, one such sighting between the infamous hyenas and the wild dogs stands out for me. It occurred about a month ago, and I’m excited to share the story along with some pictures with you today.

We set off before sunrise looking for a pack of wild dogs. Excitedly, we discovered a pack of twelve close to camp near the Londolozi airstrip. We spent about 20 minutes watching them as they slowly started getting active. A pack of wild dogs usually start hunting early in the morning to benefit from the cooler weather. These highly energetic carnivores need to hunt every day to sustain their high metabolism.

The pack playfully chased a wildebeest in the early morning. Although wild dogs have been known to hunt prey several times bigger than themselves. A healthy full-grown wildebeest is far too strong and quick for the pack.

As the wild dogs got up and began moving along the airstrip, a herd of wildebeest was walking across the tarmac about 100 meters away. In a matter of seconds, the pack noticed the herd and picked up the pace to chase them down. Adult wildebeest are much larger than a wild dog and are not a common target; wild dogs prefer smaller antelope such as impala.

We enjoyed watching the dogs make a few false attempts at the wildebeest and play around in the open clearings around the airstrip. But once the wildebeest showed no real sign of falling prey to the dogs, they lost interest in this option of a hunt and moved off into a thicket. That’s when we knew the real hunt was on.

We looped around the thicket and drove with speed to try to keep up with the pack. This is always an exhilarating experience and a moment on the game drive that I always look forward to. However, on this occasion, we could not keep up, and they disappeared. After thirty minutes of trying to track them down on many different roads in the reserve, we suspected that the pack may have moved into an inaccessible section of the river. Despair!

But then, to our relief, we received a message on the radio that Tracker Sersant, who was on foot tracking a female leopard in the area, had found the dogs killing a wildebeest calf! We raced across to the clearing where all the action unfolded before our eyes.

A few members of the pack watch on as several hyenas dive into a feeding frenzy. The Wild Dogs managed to get a small portion of the carcass before the Hyenas heard the commotion and arrived to steal the kill. The noise was incredible. Hyenas were cackling and the dogs were hooing in order to regroup.

The bloodied faces of the Painted Dogs look somewhat disappointed as they watch their catch get consumed by the clan of hyenas. This is very common behaviour by Hyena’s. They have a very acute sense of hearing and are the ultimate opportunists. We have experienced several situations where Painted dogs have made a kill and then to have it stolen by hyenas.

Two Hooded Vultures swooped down a few moments later. There was action everywhere we looked!

As the Hyenas finished off the carcass, the Painted Dogs and Vultures could only sit and watch from a distance. The Hyenas ate incredibly quickly and finished just about every part of the wildebeest calf including the bones.

It was an amazing experience to witness another incredible African Painted Dog sighting at Londolozi. The sight, sound and even the smell of the interaction between these two predators will be remembered for a while.

Witnessing such an intense encounter between African Painted Dogs and a Clan of Hyenas was truly unforgettable. The thrill of the chase, the unexpected turns, the sounds and the sheer unpredictability of nature made this experience stand out among the many memorable sightings we’ve had.