Guests watch wild dog collaring - incredible conservation-in-action experience

Lolldaiga has been a hub of excitement as wild dogs crossed through the conservancy several times - giving guests the sighting of a lifetime. 

First, a pack of 15 wild dogs crossed from Borana Conservancy (to our east) into the north, where they moved quickly through the dry landscape, stopping only briefly to regroup. The pack were healthy and quick moving and two had collars on them. They stayed on Lolldaiga for about 45 minutes before moving onto Ol Jogi (western boundary). It was incredible for our guests to spend time with the pack and to move with them at such high speed. 

It was a week later when we heard from Enasoit (south-western boundary) that the pack were back again... Or so we thought! It was, again, 15 members but this time there were none that were collared. This meant that this group were different from the one last week, and this was an entirely new pack that had not been recorded before! Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) were called and a team mobilised quickly to come record the pack and our incredibly lucky guests were treated to a front row seat as the KWS team darted and collared a member of this new pack. 

An amazing afternoon meant they spent time not only watching these beautiful animals, but also to see conservation work in action as a number of conservation minded groups came together to protect these endangered animals for future generations. 

(Above) KWS prepare the collar that will be worn by a member of the wild dog pack. Collaring is an important way to keeping track of a pack (they move so fast it can be tough to keep tabs on them over long distances) and to make sure they remain healthy and even grow in number. Two of this new pack were limping; likely they had been caught in a bushmeat trap. The KWS team also treated these sick animals, giving them a better chance of thriving in the wild.