Wild about Wild Dogs. Machaba Camp, Botswana

Even though we had found ten individual Leopards on this trip,
there was still one species that we wanted to see…

Wild dogs…
and we found them on our last evening game drive!

Getting into hunting mode.

The pack, off to do what they are designed for, hunt!

The Impala are very clever when it comes to NOT becoming food.
They have realized that if they stand still while the dogs rush by, they stand a better chance of survival.
Obviously, these were not standing still.

Unfortunately for the pack, their intended victim ran into the river and was taken by a croc.

A quick drink stop at our “lucky” waterhole.
We enjoyed our drinks surrounded by hyena, lions and the dog pack.

Back to Machaba for our final dinner…
But we still had one more game drive in the morning.

And look what we found…

The entire pack, adults and pups, not far from where we left them the night before

Early morning exercises?
Or just uncomfortable sleeping on a full stomach?

Car tracks make a great pillow…

Although they were in “resting” mode they were constantly interacting with each other

Especially the pups.
There is always one that gets picked on.

The rough and tumble is all part of their learning process

The pup on the left has a really manic look…

“Leave me ALONE”…

This paw has many km’s to go later…

But THIS why were I was here…
To help the Leopard ID Project.
Yet another leopard…but we had seen this particular individual the previous day

No time to look…
This herd was very skittish
and it took a while for them to pluck up the courage to cross the path