Dog Day Afternoons.

[Lisbeth]

Dewi

[Dewi]

Stage whisper.......

"So here, in the wilds of Botswana, the Alpha male leads his pack into the Mababe Depression on the hunt for food."



"To feed an ever growing family of thirteen pups, he has to lead his team through dense bush in search of their favourite prey, the impala."



"Due to their diurnal nature and their co-operative hunting techniques, the dogs can afford to have a colourful pelage. No need for camoflague for these dogs."



"Head down, the Alpha male heads towards a favoured hunting spot."



"Closely followed by a pack member who may even be one of his sons from a previous year."



"They can cover huge distances when hunting, but prefer to stay fairly close to the den whilst they have dependant young."



"In single file, they move with a deliberate pace."



"Before fanning out to cover more ground."

[Flutterby]

I could hear David Attenborough!

[Alf]

I think the alpha male must stop doing his business on his own tail

[Lisbeth]

[Dewi]

Nice one Flutt's.

Glad you mentioned the tail bit Alf. I was hoping someone would. There is a reason the dog's tails look so scruffy. It's got to do with part of their behaviour. Anyone care to guess the reason why?

Lis.

[Alf]

Nice one Flutt's.

Glad you mentioned the tail bit Alf. I was hoping someone would. There is a reason the dog's tails look so scruffy. It's got to do with part of their behaviour. Anyone care to guess the reason why?

Lis.

The more he stinks the more they respect him

[Lisbeth]

Anyone care to guess the reason why?

In order to overwhelm their natural stench?

[Dewi]

The answer I'm after has nothing to do with smell, but you are right in that wild dogs have an unpleasantly strong body odour. The body odour is thought to help the dogs find each other when moving in dense cover or at night. Unlike other canids, wild dogs do not scent mark their territories as assiduously, but the Alpha female will usually scent mark around the den and when she is in heat. The Alpha male will then scent mark over her markings. Subordinate dogs rarely scent mark.

OK, any other guesses as to the scruffy tails?

[Dewi]

No?

The white tipped tails act as signals when the dogs are hunting or in thick bush. Pups instinctively go for the white tails as soon as they are out of the den and constantly chase each others tails, biting and licking them in play. They also do this to the adults. Adults will also engage in this behaviour, especially at greeting or hunting rallies as can bee seen in one of the earlier photos if you look closely enough.