Okonjima News Archive 2005
August 05
AfriCat's dogs...AfriCat was contacted in May and alerted to the plight of seven wild dog pups. The entire den had been poisoned by communal farmers and the pups were rescued by an official from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, after they had been buried alive. Sadly, the tight-knit social structure of wild dogs makes them an easy target for this type of predator eradication. The once thriving populations of wild dog in Africa are now marginalized and threatened.The seven pups were brought to Okonjima on the 21st May after a rush visit to the vet for antibiotics, deworming and a rehydrating drip. It was twelve hours before some of the pups showed signs of life. The ordeal proved too much for two of the pups who died within a fortnight of the rescue, having never fully recovered. The remaining pups named Raine, Rufus, Rex, Ricki and Ruby are making great progress under the supervision of Carla and Dave at the AfriCat Foundation.So what does the future hold for the survivors? As the property operated by Okonjima expands towards its goal of 22,000 hectares by the year 2007, the pups will be collared and released into the reserve and will hopefully hunt as a family unit. The next few years will be critical for the pups whose fragile immune systems are highly susceptible to distemper and other canine diseases. Their role in helping to educate Namibian school children in the sustainable management of stock alongside naturally occurring predators may help to avoid the needless destruction of this rare species in future.