We are lucky enough to live and work in Selous Game Reserve (now called Nyerere National Park)- from its stunning landscapes to its thrills of wildlife we are invited to experience the sublime.  Our guests also are drawn into this wilderness and witness Mother Nature at her very best.  And Colin "Wild Dog" Gross was no exception as himself, his wife Barbara and 14 friends watched as a pack of Wild Dog cavorted and played.

There are only 3000-6000 Wild Dogs left in the wild and the largest population of these are in Selous Game Reserve. No two wild dogs are marked exactly the same, making it easy to identify different individuals. Selous makes a perfect location for them as they cover a lot of ground approximately 385 square miles.

They are cursorial hunters, which means they pursue their prey in a long, open chase.  These chases may occur at great speeds of up to 66 km per hour for 10-60 minutes.  Nearly 80% of the wild dog hunts ends in a success kill (success rate of a lion is 30%).  We recently had a kill right in front of our tents - the pack had taken down an Impala but some of our passing elephant scared them away from their prize.  After a successful hunt, the hunters will regurgitate meat for those that remained at the den, including the dominant female, the pups, the sick or injured, the old and inform or those who stayed behind to guard the pups.

A HUGE thank you to Colin Gross for the lovely images of these very special endangered creatures.