WILD DOGS HUNT ANTELOPE ON EDGE OF CLIFF

This is the moment wild dogs try to hunt down klipspringers that are cornered on the edge of a cliff. Will these antelopes, and their hooves, keep their cool?

On the 22nd of February 2022, the @MalaMalaGameReserve rangers were very fortunate to share a once-in-a-lifetime sighting with their guests. Wild Dogs trying to hunt antelope on the edge of a cliff! Guide Gareth van Rooyen tells the story.

"This pack of 21 Wild Dog had been on the Reserve for the past week and on this particular day were settling down in the Mlowathi River, North of its confluence with the Sand River. Rangers had sighted the dogs on an afternoon safari, probably on the hunt for something to eat - as it is not uncommon for Wild Dogs to hunt twice a day. "

"They encountered Klipspringers (small antelope) and cornered these poor victims on these massive rocks. One of the rangers who was filming, Michael Botes, has actually witnessed these very same Klipspringers go through the same ordeal with a different pack of Wild Dogs before! Steff McWilliam was also filming in the sighting and both of these guides could not believe what was happening!"

"It was mostly the young Wild Dogs who were trying to get to the Klipspringers." Whereas the adults were not showing much interest in this game of cat and mouse - or in this case - Dog and Antelope.

"Now for Klipspringers, as daunting it may be having these predators in their habitat, they were designed by Mother Nature to live in rocky outcrops. Their hooves are very pointy, allowing them to be very nimble and agile on rocks such as these. And living in habitats like these usually assists in avoiding the bigger predators."

"What makes this sighting utterly unbelievable is the fact that Wild Dogs are not known to be climbers of any sort. Their paws are not at all designed for what we witness here! The fact that the Dogs did not slip or fall is incredible in itself."

"This really had everyone on the vehicle, hearts pumping as they were anxiously waiting to see what happens next. But eventually, the Wild Dogs lost interest and moved on. Where later they did actually hunt one of Africa's slightly bigger antelope, impala."