Our last few engrossing days have been spent patiently waiting at the Alpha female’s den and we have been well and truly rewarded by hearing the pups down below on a few occasions.
She is ever so protective over her precious pups and never ventures far from the entrance. She will periodically patrol around the mound as in the image below where she is seen peering through the golden grass in the early morning.
Then this special Mother’s Day morning our first view of…wait for it… 8 tiny pups that could hardly walk, look at the tiny faces. This is the first time they have ventured out properly, so we estimate around 3 and a half weeks old.
Remember that they are born helpless with their ears and eyes closed, they are also born black and white, the tan and beige colour comes later. She feeds them nothing but milk for the first month of their life. They then begin to eat solid food regurgitated by other pack members at about 4 weeks old when the pups also begin to wander around outside the den.
Wild dog pups are usually weaned by five weeks. By seven weeks they begin to get their adult coloration and body shape in. When they are 8-10 weeks old, the pack leaves the den area to go into another area of their territory so if all goes to plan we will have another month with them at this den site!
Keep you all posted.
That?s great news for Mother?s Day indeed!
Thank you very much Dave for all your posts ?always the same great feeling like I?m there! God, it?s so tempting to drop everything behind, catch the plane do Johannesburg and come to visit Leopard Hills again!
I keep my fingers crossed for their bright future!
Looking forward for more and more pictures:D
Dear Dave and Team,
What a happening ! This is where we were waiting for : to see the pups: healthy and curiously looking into the new world. Even from the Netherlands we were following the development of the Wild Dog Story.
Be proud of the fact that they are on outr property and enjoy every moment with your guests being with this highly endangerous specie.
Thanks for your detailed diary and looking forward to hear from you and the LH team
Greetings from your 4 times guest Ron,
a dedicated wild dog lover
Great news and photos, but where is it Mothers Day – USA and ………..? Not in Europe anyway.
Hi Dave:
What a wonderful sighting. Those Pups are so very cute! We hope they make it.
How we wish we were there. Thanks for
sharing these images with us.
Dear Dave:
What a wonderful sighting. The Pups are
so very cute! Hope they make it. Thanks
for sharing with us these great images.
Manny & Betty
Dear Dave:
What a wonderful sighting. The Pups are
so very cute. Wish we were there. Thanks
for sharing these pictures with us.
Manny & Betty Aguila
Dave thanx so much for keeping us close to this exciting and special time! The pictures are spectacular but i really appreciate your educational aspect on these wild and wonderful creatures! Looking forward to following their continued progress with all of you…
Thank you Dave. One of my favorite animals. Wonderful social structure. See you in September. Arnold
Hi guys at Lepard Hills!
Thanx for sharing these cute photos and the explanations about the puppies! I certainly have learnt something new … even after living in Southern Africa for several decades …
Hope to visit one of your Reserves in the near future. In the meantime – keep up the excellent work of preservation & education!!!
It’s all so very lekker! Hope to be back in 2013! Wish it could be sooner.
Joy, Camarillo, CA
Thanks for posting these. Sorry we missed them by a day. You guys are the best!
Saw these darlings many times while on Safari. They are still good to go and looking very curious of the outside world. I hope they will still be there when I return some day!!! What a thrill to see so many at one den. I think I took 100 pictures of them.
24/05/2011
Jean Wellington President OCAPTA