Where to see wild dogs in South Africa

Quick facts about Wild dog

South Africa is home to around 600 African wild dogs. These fall into three broad categories. First, there are 300–350 in the Greater Kruger National Park, which has remained their last stronghold after being eradicated elsewhere and is one of Africa’s most important populations. Then there is the ‘metapopulation’ – a scattered collection of smaller, fenced reserves across the north and east, where wild dogs have been reintroduced in recent decades and are now intensively protected and monitored. These include Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (introduced 1980) and Madikwe Game Reserve in Northwest Province (introduced 1994). Finally, there is a small free-roaming population outside protected areas, largely in Limpopo Province in the far north.

South Africa: wild dog hot spots

You stand a decent chance of spotting wild dogs in Kruger National Park, especially in the hilly south-west, where lions are less abundant. But the park is vast, the bush dense and you must be in the right place at the right time. Your odds may improve in Sabi Sands and the other private concessions that make up the Greater Kruger along the western border. In KwaZulu-Natal, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve has around ten packs, and has seeded smaller populations on nearby reserves, including uMkhuzi, Tembe and Somkhanda. Perhaps South Africa’s most reliable wild dog viewing can today be enjoyed in the more arid lands to the north-west, notably in Madikwe Game Reserve which today has at least three packs, well-established and habituated to vehicles, and Tswalu Kalahari, where 12 pups were born in 2023.