10 Best Places To See Wild Dog on Safari.

Seeing wild dogs on safari is difficult. The painted dog, often known as the African wild dog, requires large spaces to roam. It is only found in a small number of safari locations due to this and its vulnerability to a variety of illnesses, including as rabies and canine distemper, which are spread by domestic dogs.

Wild canines are only compelled to stay in one place for an extended period of time during the denning season, which runs from May to September in southern Africa but earlier in East Africa. It is important to note that there is no certainty of seeing wild dogs in any of the following areas.

These predators are incredibly erratic and have the ability to travel great distances suddenly and without obvious cause. Sightings of wild dogs are therefore relatively unusual. The top 10 locations where you are likely to see one (or more) are listed below.

1. Ruaha NP and Nyerere (Selous) NP (Tanzania)

In Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, a vigilant wild dog

For many years, ardent wild dog enthusiasts have found both Nyerere and Ruaha National Parks to be great locations, frequently providing exceptional sightings.

2. Okavango Delta & Northern Botswana Concessions

Savuti, Botswana: Wild dogs on the water’s edge

With one of the largest populations of wild dogs on the continent, this vast area of northern Botswana—which encompasses the Okavango Delta, Savuti and Linyanti, Kwando, and Selinda concessions—offers great opportunities for sightings. Wild dog sightings are also becoming more common in the concessions of Chitabe and Qorokwe.

3. African wild dogs in the vicinity of Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe)

The largest national park in Zimbabwe, Hwange National Park, is a perfect place for wild dogs to live. It’s a fantastic place for safaris with wild dogs. The long-running Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) initiative, which works to preserve, rehabilitate, and return wild dog packs into the wild, is also based here. It is worthwhile to see its Interpretive Hall and Walkway, which are located just outside the gate close to Main Camp.

4. Zambia’s Luangwa Valley

Three untamed dogs at Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park

Due to frequent sightings in South Luangwa National Park, this area has long been a dependable location for wild dogs. Following years of disease and persecution, the wild dog population in North Luangwa National Park is also rebounding.

5. Madikwe, which is in South Africa

Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa is home to a wild dog.

Farming was done on the site that is now Madikwe Game Reserve. Since farming was largely unsuccessful due to the poor soil, the South African government determined that the best way to improve this underprivileged area’s economy would be to turn it into a national park.

The Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhino) may be found at Madikwe, which also has no malaria and has excellent family accommodations. Since their 1994 introduction to the park, wild dogs have flourished in spite of numerous obstacles. Sightings are frequent since Madikwe is a fenced reserve, making it impossible for the wild dog packs to escape.

6. Lower Zambezi NP and Mana Pools NP in Zambia

A group of untamed dogs having fun in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park

These two parks are located downstream of Kariba Dam on opposing banks of the Zambezi. Throughout the safari season (May through November), visitors may expect frequent and thrilling encounters of wild dogs that den in and around Mana Pools National Park. After being absent for a number of years, wild dogs are now frequently sighted in Lower Zambezi National Park, which is home to multiple sizable packs.

7. Laikipia, Kenya, home of the African wild dog

This is the only area in Kenya where groups have been reliably spotted and where wild dogs have been sighted on a regular basis in recent years.

8. South Africa’s Greater Kruger

Playing wild dogs in South Africa’s Kruger National Park

Wild dogs are common in the area, despite never being frequently sighted in the actual Kruger National Park or any of the private game reserves that encircle it.

9. Zambia’s Liuwa Plain NP

Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia is home to wild dogs.

Liuwa Plain National Park in far western Zambia has a lot of open grassland and a variety of prey for wild dogs, who were brought back here in 2021.

10. The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa is home to its wild dog.

One of South Africa’s lesser-known parks, KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, is home to a small reintroduced population of wild dogs. Any planned safari excursion to this area should include a visit to this true treasure of a place.