African wild dogs were one of the species I had hoped we would see as I had never seen them in the wild previously. We knew there was a pack in the area but it was a matter of locating them and hopefully seeing them hunt. Our wildlife guide, Colin, has years of hunting and guiding experience and it was lovely to watch him at work, simultaneously driving and tracking. From the fresh sign, we knew they were close when, as with the lions the day before, they were suddenly there next to the track.

Unlike the lions they were on the move apart from a brief rest on the cool morning sand of the vehicle track. Colin seemed to know exactly where they were heading and repeatedly we lost sight of them, only to intersect their path again. Wild dogs have an incredibly high success rate (60-90%) when hunting so the other animals keep a wary eye on them. A Red hartebeest standing in typical fashion on a mound gave a lovely opportunity with the warm early morning light accentuating the colour.

Moving on a little the dogs gazed out over, and prowled the margins of a flooded area, creating some anxiety amongst the Lechwe.

Red lechwe use the flooded areas as protection and run through water to escape predators. They are quite wary and if they notice something of concern will stamp their hooves as a warning to others.

We ended up following them through a range of habitats and had opportunities to get a range of images at rest and moving – a real highlight so early in the trip.

Following them over a period of time showed just how quickly and efficient they can move through a range of habitats. I attempted some slow shutter images to try and capture this feeling of movement and speed.

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 or Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 28-400mm. f4-8