We had discovered a wild dog den site near the road and were eagerly awaiting the first sighting of the new pups. We saw the adults on every game drive, running around looking for food and protecting the den site from other predators. Finally one afternoon we got to the den site and had our first view of two little pups outside the den. Unfortunately, the next morning the dogs were fighting off a hyena from their den when two young male lions who were not too far off heard the commotion and made their way towards the den. Defending their den against hyena is one thing, against lions they stood no chance. The wild dogs were forced to flee and the lions moved in and killed the two pups. When the wild dogs were able to return they searched all over for the pups in vain. The wild dogs moved on and will just have to try again…
