A total of three of our four Reserves (namely Mkhuze, Thanda and Tembe) have had litters of Wild Dog puppies born to the Alpha females on the Reserves.Thanda's fifteen pups are still doing well and are now 10 weeks old and venturing quite far from the den site. Our monitor, Michelle Swemmer, reports that they have now also gone on their first hunt, moving quite a distance for such young dogs.Tembe's Alpha has given birth to 8 pups, which were seen for the first time on 17 July by monitor Cilla Pickering and volunteers.Mkhuze's Alpha female has produced an unidentified number of pups that so far have been heard but not seen.Wild Dog puppy mortality is usually high, due to other predators like Lion and Hyaena killing the pups, as well as disease outbreaks. Having all 3 litters doing so well is extremely exciting and we will continue to monitor these puppies intensively to help ensure their survival.
