Few animals are blessed with as much social spirit as that of the Wild Dog. These ‘Wolves of Africa’ display a wonderful sense of community. They live and hunt in packs-from as few as ten to as many as 100 -with remarkable success. Wild dogs can sustain a pace of 48 kilometres an hour for almost two kilometers. When one is exhausted another takes its place in the chase. The pack eats on the run, tearing the flesh off the luckless prey while it is in flight, often ripping out its entrails until it drops exhausted. A pack of twelve can consume a full-grown impala within ten minutes.

There is some reprieve, however, for the antelope and gazelle which make up most of their diet. The pack hunts only at sunup and sundown, between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning and from 6:00 to 7:00 in the evening. A packs kill averages just less than two kilos of flesh a day for each animal.

These social and affectionate animals take a great care of their young, feeding them with semi-digested meat, which the adults regurgitate. The lame and sick which trail after the hunt are cared for, too.When they come upon the kill they are made welcome to the feast. Colleagues will regurgitate for them also.

The young treat their seniors with deference. Those that do not are chastised with a snapping bite on the flank. This makes the youngster freeze, raise its head and whimper obedience. Among each other, wild dogs are gentle and persuasive, licking faces and muzzles, and crouching in deference whenever they want something from another member of the pack, usually meat or company.

Wild dogs, which range far and wide throughout Kenya, have little fear of man to whom they are indifferent. One pack was seen by a climbing party at the very summit -5,895 metres-of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

Kenya’s jackals, with their slender long legs, look more like domestic dogs and, in fact, are fairly closely related to them.

The Black-backed ( or Silver-backed Jackal) is the most common of the Kenyan jackals distinguished by the broad black band -similar to that of a German Shepherd ( Alsatian) dog-which runs along its back,and white underbelly. Resourceful animals, they hunt and scavenge, in packs of as many as 30 on small antelope up to the size of a Thomson’s gazelle,hares,rodents,guinea`fowl and other ground birds, reptiles ,eggs, and insects. They swoop down on a kill with an unmistakable siren-like howl -darting in and out among their noses. They are also prey themselves for lion, leopard, and python.Cubs are often taken by eagles.

The most elusive of the three species is the Side-striped jackal, moving stealthily through the undergrowth at night .Essentially a scavenger, it gets its name from the indistinct light stripe along its flank.

The Golden jackal, adaptable to changing circumstances and environment, has been found living close to villages, large towns and even in the suburbs of Nairobi, where it scavenges on garbage dumps at night. With its appealing face and gigantic ears, the Bat-eared fox is one of Kenya’s most endearing creatures. In shape and appearance it could have been crafted by a Walt Disney artist.

Its enormous ears provide acutely-tuned antennae for picking up the location of the insects on which it feeds. This sensitive listening system also acts as defense.The bat-eared fox, which is active at night, spends the day drowsing outside its burrow, yet ever alert, its ears twitching. When danger threatens it flattens them close against the side of its face.

The bat-eared fox, which mates for life, is the only one of the seven African foxes found in Kenya. As with most of these small creatures, zoologists have not paid much attention to the bat-eared fox. But its plaintive cry is perhaps a poignant expression of its fate, like that of the rest of its kin, as one of nature’s constant and furtive fugitives.

While some animals have suffered seriously from poaching and hunting ,hyena have prospered, as they have never been a target of the hunter or poacher .Indeed, though for many years considered only as scavengers, they are themselves ruthless and successful hunters. Dog-like in appearance and behavior -male hyena cock their leg to urinate-hyena is probably more closely related to the mongoose.

Spotted hyena hunt in packs of up to 30.Their range of prey is varied and their appetite indiscriminate. They cut down wildebeest, zebra and gazelle at speeds of up to 64 kilometres an hour. These voracious killers follow pregnant females, snatching their newborn as they are delivered. The strong teeth and powerful jaws allow hyena to crack bones easily, sucking out what is to them the delectable marrow. Given the opportunity, spotted hyena attack humans and, not infrequently, their own kind.

Almost any form of food-from rubbish tip scavenging to fleet-footed Thomson’s gazelle-is grist to the hyena’s all-consuming mill. They have been eating brooms, old shoes, and bicycle saddles. But live prey form about 80 per cent of their diet, making them more efficient hunters than the lion which will often eat the hyena’s leftovers.

Coal-black, the cubs are born with eyes wide open, teeth cut, and can walk at once. Their life expectancy is up to 40 years and, like dogs and wolves, hyena bay at the moon. But instead of throwing their heads back, they point their muzzles down. The spotted hyena prefers bush and wooded country, lush everywhere.

The Striped hyena, a smaller animal, is found in dry, stunted plains.

Nature has been unkind to the Aardwolf .Its behavior is far from wolfish. Though it may occasionally pounce on a passing rodent, it is an ill-equipped killer and has few defenses against attack. When frightened, it raises its distinctive back mane to make itself look much bigger. If it is actually attacked, it gives off a strong and repugnant s, smell like a skunk.

Its sandy brown coat, marked by dark vertical stripes, makes it look like a more elegant miniature of the striped hyena, to which it may be distantly related. Although some experts think the aardwolf is unique, many suggest it is a form of hyena which, through a changing diet over the centuries, has degenerated into a family by itself.

The chances of seeing one are rare, anyway. They move about by night, hiding during the daytime in old aardwolf burrows in which they raise their young, usually three to a litter, often in small communities of nursing females.

Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Scenic & Sightseeing Safaris In Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/scenic-flights.html

Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Scenic & Sightseeing Safaris In Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/scenic-flights.html

Author Bio: Anthony A Juma is the Editor and Director Commercial & Flights Operations at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Scenic & Sightseeing Safaris In Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/scenic-flights.html

Category: Travel
Keywords: scenic & sightseeing flights Kenya,scenic & sightseeing flights Maasai Mara,scenic flights