Known as Flint, wild dog number 1293 used to be a male in perfect condition and was collared in September 2022 to allow us to track and protect him and his two brothers when he dispersed from Miloyti, the pack he was born in. Using information from his collar, we found out Flint encountered some female dispersers and formed a Chitungulu pack about 100 km north of where he grew up. During their movements to establish a territory, they passed through a very dangerous area, where the chance of encountering a snare was very high.
…it’s possible only because the pack takes care of them…
When we caught up with Flint’s pack in a vehicle, we found the alpha female snared and were able to immobilise her and remove the snare, thus saving her life, but one of the uncollared males was missing. Shortly after that, Flint’s satellite collar stopped transmitting, and given the remoteness of the area, we lost track of the whole pack.
Welcomed home
Not long after, the BBC Kingdom crew reported the arrival of a new dog in the Miloyti pack they had been filming; he was missing a leg but had a collar. After checking the photos, we confirmed that it was Flint, returned home to his mother’s pack, his leg likely lost to snares that had decimated his new pack. While it may seem impossible for a dog to survive on 3 legs, they can and do—both from natural hunting injuries and from snares. But it’s possible only because the pack takes care of them, helping to feed and protect them. And in return Flint was a great uncle. Flint was very helpful in caring for Storm’s pups in 2023. He was mostly babysitting at the den and food was brought to him by the other pack members after a hunt.