Watch as a pack of wild dogs chase a young kudu towards a dam, and witness the incredible strategy they use to catch their prey. Head ranger Neil Whyte captures this intense wildlife interaction at Savanna Private Game Reserve.
“We were out on a morning safari, specifically searching for the pack of wild dogs that are denning on the property. We had just located them, and the excitement began from the get-go because they were finishing off what remained of a duiker they had caught.”
Wild dogs are very opportunistic and will take what they can get. A duiker is a small antelope and was likely nowhere near enough to satisfy seven wild dogs, but some sustenance is better than nothing. They usually continue to look for more food until they’re all nice and full.
It didn’t look like there would be much more action, but things change so fast with wild dogs: “The pack finished feeding quickly and started trotting off toward their den sites. It was on the way back when they ran into a herd of kudu.”
The wild dogs flushed out the herd from the thick bush and managed to single out a sub-adult. Wild dogs are excellent runners with a massive amount of endurance; the young kudu knew it had no chance of escaping. So, it did the only thing it could — make a dash for the nearby dam.
Wild dogs can swim, so they could have given chase right off the bat, but there are other predators, and the pack knows this. The desperate kudu didn’t even think about what else could be in the water.
