Botswana Predator Conservation

It's our favourite day of the year, #worldwilddogday African wild dogs used to be actively persecuted till well into the 1980s. They used to be shot out of protected areas, all because it was thought that their hunting methods were detrimental to prey populations, but mostly it was because they were perceived as being repulsive and violent. It's amazing how people's perceptions, and misconceptions, can damage the livelihood of an entire species. Gradually, people have started to see how complex and intelligent these highly social large carnivores are. Our founder, Dr Tico McNutt, did a lot of work to begin to shift these perceptions; studying this species when most people saw them as a pest and very little was known about them, assisting film crews to tell their story, even writing a book with his wife Lesley (Running Wild - dispelling the myths of the African wild dog). So today, to see that there is a dedicated world wild dog day specifically to raise awareness and celebrate these creatures shows just how far we all have come. The journey isn't over yet, wild dogs are still endangered, their populations declining. Now is the time to support organisations across the continent that work hard to understand and protect this species. Photo: @mjclaase #weareallconnected #worldwilddogday #worldpainteddogday #africanwilddog #lycaonpictus #paintedwolf #painteddog #endangeredspecies #protectourpredators #predatorsunderthreat #bpc

Hunting dogs. Apoka pack a couple of years ago hunting in the mophane. Dominant male Darius is front and centre, hunting with the pack while Seronera was back at the den, awaiting their return with food for her and the new pups. Captured at a shared marking site, monitored with funding from @stlzoo and @leopardess_foundation #africanwilddog #huntingdog #paintedwolf #paintedwolf #dogpack #predator #endangeredspecies #cameratrap #cameratrapping

A new collaborative effort paper is out now that we are proud to have contributed to. Collaboration and data sharing is necessary between research organisations if data driven guidelines and evidence based large scale land use management strategies that support conservation are to be achieved. Head to the link in our bio to give it a read. #research #collaboration #conservation #conservationresearch #science #weareallconnected #largecarnivore #africanwilddog #cheetah #lion #leopard #hyaena Photo: @mjclaase

Did you know that there are less lions left in the wild than gorillas? This iconic species is slipping towards extinction, with only a conservative estimate of 20,000 wild lions left. In the last 25 years alone their population halved. Conservation efforts are necessary if this species is to survive the next 25 years. World lion day is a day to draw attention to these issues, to support organisations who are working to safeguard their future, and finally, it is a day to celebrate these beautiful and powerful animals and their place in this world. Photo: @pbrack68 #WorldLionDay #lions #lioncub #pantheraleo #predatorsunderthreat #protectthepride #protectourpredators #prideinourprides #conservation #coexistence #coexistenceiskey

The chase; blink and you might miss it! Our camera traps stationed at wild dog shared marking sites captured a moment of a wild dog hunt. Wait for the giraffe at the end 😂 In our area, hunts such as this are typical. Dogs scattered in all directions in uncoordinated short pursuits of prey. These short chases last about a minute and reach top speeds of 64km/h. In the confusion, sometimes a pack member makes a kill. They then call the others in, and eveyone shares the kill. On average only 16% of targets are successfully taken down, but the benefits of pack living mean that a pack of 6 can easily catch enough food to feed 16 dogs. Check the link in our bio to get more information on this study conducted in collaboration with @royalvetcollege back in 2012. #africanwilddog #lycaonpictus #paintedwolf #painteddog #impala #giraffe #thehunt #predator #predatorsunderthreat #endangeredspecies #research #science #nature #rvc

Saved by the smell - using chemical signals to protect predators and livestock. Head to the link in our bio to watch Dr Peter Apps talk about breakthroughs and BioBoundaries with Leadership for Conservation in Africa. Photo: @mjclaase #africanwilddog #lycaonpictus #paintedwolf #painteddog #conservation #conservationresearch #bioboundary #science #chemistry

The denning season is in full swing in the delta! All of our study packs are now denning, aside from the Apoka pack, who have started to split up following the death of the dominant male Darius earlier this year. Puppies are now beginning to emerge, enabling us to get sexes and ID shots of each individual. With their IDs in our database, we can keep track of them for life. During the denning season the normally wide ranging wild dogs restrict their movements to as little as 27% of their normal range. This restriction is driven by the packs support of the dominant female and the pups. Wild dogs are obligate cooperative breeders; usually one dominant pair breed, and the whole pack helps to raise the new pups. After each hunt, the dogs return to the den and regurgitate meat for the mother and the puppies, the entire pack playing a part in helping the next generation to survive. Photo: Dominik Behr. #africanwilddog #lycaonpictus #paintedwolf #painteddog #puppies #survival #newlife #dogsofinstagram

Swipe to see how much difference 4 months makes for a lion cub 😍 #pantheraleo #lions #lioncub #growingstrong #doubletrouble #predatorsunderthreat #protectthepride #protectourpredators Photo: Neelo John and @mjclaase

Scent sample collection at African wild dog shared marking sites is a serious business! It's incredibly difficult to translate what we see on the videos to the ground in front of us. You have to scour the ground for any signs of marking, relying on tufts of grass and shrubs to aid our search. With urine, we often have to fall back on our sense of smell to locate a sample! We record ourselves so that we can double check on the computer that we did actually collected the sample that we were aiming for. Here you can see researchers Rio and Megan carefully collecting a urine sample. Samples from identified dogs are collected (we never take the whole thing, we still want the dogs to be able to communicate), processed, labelled, and frozen. They then go to town, for the chemical analysis to begin! This work is possible with funding from @stlzoo and the @leopardess_foundation #cameratrap #samplecollection #bpc #bioboundary #research #fieldwork #followyournose

Beautiful shot of a young male leopard captured by our Research Assistant Neelo John. This male is new to our database, and as such doesn't have a name yet (beyond his ID code of LpM42). Any suggestions for a name to fit this beautiful boy? Let us hear your suggestions in the comments! 📷 Neelo John #pantherapardus #leopard #goldenhour #protectourpredators #research #populationmonitoring #opentosuggestions #givehimaname

"Bound within boundaries: Do protected areas cover movement corridors of their most mobile, protected species?" Head to the link in our bio to access our latest collaborative article with the team from the University of Zurich's African wild dog dispersal project. Amazing journal cover photo by Dominik Behr. @gab.cozzi @arpatoz @pop.ecol @britishecolsoc #bpc #research #britishecologicalsociety #kaza #landscapeconnectivity

Two iconic #endangeredspecies in one photo. What are we doing to the world? Loss of biodiversity poses as great a threat to humanity as climate change, and the two are inextricably linked. Unfortunately, most extinctions go unnoticed, countless species slipping silently into extinction, sometimes before they've even been documented, let alone classified as endangered. Ultimately, ecosystems need to be given value, and protected. It's not too late to change the trend of extinction. All of our choices and actions have consequences for the world around us. We still have the time to change things. Today, and every day, let's fight for practices that work with wildlife, not against. We need to make choices that support healthy ecosystems and local communities, not destroy them. #endangeredspeciesday #lycaonpictus #loxodontaafricana #africanwilddog #africanelephant #paintedwolf #painteddog #turnthetideonextinction