Wild dogs in the morning

21st October 2025

It is always a very early start on safari as the animals try to get into shade when the temperature rises. In Busanga at this time of year by 10am it was getting uncomfortably hot. When we set out on this morning there was a mist. It didn’t last long once the sun broke through but it was briefly quite ethereal. We went in search of the wild dogs we had encountered the evening before. You have to take every opportunity when a pack is in the area because they will move on and there is no knowing when, or even if, they will be back. They can travel huge distances in a single day. I have been very lucky on my trips to encounter several different packs in various countries and game parks. Many people never ever see them no matter how many trips they do.

This was a very large pack. There was a female and all the pups – both the current litter and some older pups that I guess were from last year. The alpha female was looking across the plain and the pups were literally racing around. At times she sat down but it became clear that they were waiting for the rest of the pack to return from a hunting trip. You can see in the photo below that she was collared – part of the conservation and research work that is being carried out within Kafue. They are still an endangered species so the more that is known about their preferences and behaviour the easier it is to ensure they survive.

The dog in the background is the first of the returners. It triggers mayhem as the pups go wild rushing to greet them. It is mayhem for a while but although the hunting pack are back it seems that they were unsuccessful as there was no meat being carried and, despite the begging of the pups, there was no regurgitation.

The pups gather around the mother and she was clearly making a decision about where to go to next. They moved across the plain and it wasn’t possible to follow them. But this had been quite a long and close encounter – a privilege.

While the wild dogs were the highlight, this morning drive also provided a number of other sightings. The early sight of the elephants on the treeline in the mist was lovely. As the sun burnt up the mist they became more visible. A varied breeding herd with youngsters of different ages.

While we were out we saw a school bus full of children. Later on we saw that it had stopped so we knew they were watching something. When they moved on we drove over and found a sleeping lion. It is amazing how undisturbed he was. He was known to the guide as Adam.

I mentioned that as the temperature rises the animals become less active and seek shade. Out on the plains that is pretty hard to find… every tree counts!!

We too headed back to the cool of the camp. But you never know what you will see and as we approached the camp there were monkeys in the trees.

I think the Marlboro monkey might be endemic to Kafue. It looks quite different facially to the vervet monkeys I have seen elsewhere in Zambia. It also has a longer, shaggy coat.

Then just before camp, in the bushes, we saw a bushbuck.

I think this bushbuck is spectacular. Elsewhere in Zambia when I have seen them they have instantly bounded away so to have it stand and have a chance to observe it was a perfect end to the morning. It looks almost shy in this last photo.