With their brindled coats and Mickey Mouse ears, they are the painted wolves of Africa, renowned for their ability to run down their prey and then dispatch it with gruesome but swift efficiency. Now gravely endangered across most of their range, they have made the Okavango one of their last true strongholds.
It took a long drive to find them, but my guide knew where a 14-strong pack had taken up residence in a desolate tract of mopane woodland, long since reduced by browsing elephants to a wasteland of shattered stumps. Here they had denned, burrowing deep into the soft Kalahari sand to produce 17 pups. We parked close by to wait for the adults to return from their morning hunt; and there we sat, peeling off scarves and sweaters as the sun grew hotter, until a host of flitting shapes appeared.
The dogs were back! And, judging by their bloody chests, it was clear that their hunt had been successful. Within minutes they were completely surrounded as the puppies poured from the den in a sudden flurry of wagging tails and twittering cries, to fight over the regurgitated meat that the adults had brought back for them – providing my best-ever encounter with these elusive carnivores in a lifetime of safaris.
Essentials
Brian Jackman was a guest of The Luxury Safari Company (01666 880111, theluxurysafaricompany.com), which can put together a complete safari package to the Okavango from £10,000 per person, based on two people sharing. The price includes one week’s full-board at Duke’s East Camp, international flights from London to Johannesburg with British Airways, plus onward flights into the Delta via Maun.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/botswana/botswana-africa-most-beautiful-corner-dukes-camp-safari/
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Publish date : 2023-09-03 07:00:00
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