[Perth Zoo!] African painted dogs.

[moonvoice]

They get their own post.
I apologies for the bars that are visible;
they weren't up last time, and they are a photographer's worst nightmare.
But, on the plus side;
African painted dog puppies!



















Two adults in the foreground, puppy approaching in the background.





It was high spirits and playtime for the African painted dogs. The adults were playing with the adults. They were staging mock hunts (of the puppies). The puppies were playing with the adults. The puppies were playing with each other. It was awesome.





Puppy and adult.

























The beginning of one of the mock hunts, before they all fanned out and surrounded a puppy.









Leap!





Puppy pile.

Comments

[ariestess]

*swoons and dies from teh!cute* zOMG! APD puppies! I am so much in love with them, I don't even have the words!

[moonvoice]

They are seriously adorable. *ships them to you!*

[ariestess]

The ones we have at one of our local zoos just make me smile. A trio of brothers [originally a quartet, but one died] that are so beautiful and fun. I could spend hours at their enclosure, even just to watch them sleep.

[suspended_steel]

I'm just going to die of cute right here.

[moonvoice]

Eeee! :D

[shatterpath]

AWESOME collection of photos!

[moonvoice]

Thank you! :D

[goddess_incarnate]

I really like when animals pretend hunt. It's so awesome, the way the adult animals teach the babies how to do things. I especially loved this when I learned that lions teach the cubs how to roar. SO ADORABLE.

Also, the african painted dogs are so interesting looking. I wonder if people routinely take them home as puppies (like the dingoes) but then release them when they're adults?

[moonvoice]

I really like the pretend hunting as well. Like when kittens play by mock-hunting something. It's really awesome.

I don't think there's as much of a problem with African painted dogs being taken home as puppies. I mean, dingoes did actually start out as semi-domesticated dogs, and then became wild again, so they - despite there being some problems - are way more suited to domestication than an African painted dog.

[skyfiery]

Puppehs! XD

[moonvoice]

Yay for puppies!

[silverjackal]

Awesome photos! Thank you for sharing these! They make my canid-loving heart swell. I don't think I can even manage to pick a favourite photo. :) It's difficult to tell from the pictures -- how many adults do they have?

[moonvoice]

There were honestly about 15/16 adults. Most of them were in groups of four or five, at different points in the enclosure (which was large). And there were 4/5 puppies. It's a large pack, and a very healthy and successful one in terms of breeding. They're all very happy, lively dogs. :D Sometimes all the adults would come together, but that was usually at the back of the enclosure where the lighting wasn't good enough to take photos (I don't use flash photography at the zoo, only natural light, which probably influences things).

One of the puppies was very attached to a hessian sack - dragging it around, lying down on it, chewing it etc. :)

[silverjackal]

So they have a very natural group size, that's interesting. It must be a challenge housing and vetting such a large pack. Even though you're all the way around the world from me, I'm excited that your zoo is having good success with this species. It's very important! (Why, oh why have zoological collections largely ignored the Ethiopian wolf? Granted, some of that is dietary since they prey on mole rats, but *still*. Precious, unique, irreplaceable canid, left to the vagaries of overpopulation and overdevelopment and genetic swamping. :( It's good to see that someone cares about a different (but equally un-feted) canid species.

[moonvoice]

I'm not sure how they deal with it - the set up at the back, however, is quite extensive - multiple entrances and exits into the enclosure. The enclosure itself is one of the largest in the zoo, including a small lake, many trees, hidden grassed areas, and so on. Perth Zoo, after they sort of Gerald Durrell'ed themselves into a healthier plan, have fewer animals, but much larger enclosures. The Rothschild giraffe enclosure is also very large. I'd say they feel justified as well, the African painted dogs are very active in the morning and afternoon, and a wonderful tourism attraction in the zoo itself (whereas the spotted hyenas pretty much stay out of sight, or right at the back of their enclosure), I mean, the puppies were literally happily piled right near one of the human viewing areas.

To be honest, even when they first established the painted dog enclosure, they started with about 6 or 7? So the fact that it's expanded so much is probably a really good sign. :) I imagine they're about at their limit though.

It's a shame that the Ethiopian wolf doesn't get as much notice as it should. :( I'm still surprised at how many people haven't even heard of the African painted dog. 'The what?' And if you clarify with some of their other names (i.e. African wild dog), you still get a blank look.

[silverjackal]

I'm still surprised at how many people haven't even heard of the African painted dog.

Sadly I'm not. There are surprisingly large numbers of people who are completely uninterested in animals. Well, perhaps not surprising, but surprising to me. There are people who can't distinguish common wild species that live in their back yards here. I'm not talking small, cryptic things -- deer, elk, moose, coyotes, etc. Because they are disinterested they don't pay attention when presented with information, and don't retain it. It can be particularly frustrating when they "don't bother" with important safety information like how to behave if you find yourself in close proximity to a bear. *gnashes teeth* Then again, I suppose some of those same people could tell you remarkable things about the insides of cars, or the history of fashion, or the work of seminal musical groups, all of which I know nothing of, and could care less. I'd care if whatever it is could eat me, though -- that's the one thing I can't get past. :D

[moonvoice]

Speaking of, how *is* one supposed to behave when they find themselves in close proximity of a bear? We don't have any threats like that, here.

[silverjackal]

That depends somewhat on the context, and on the bear.

Your average meeting consists of seeing a bear at some small distance, the bear either ignores the human or moves off slowly. The response there is to carry on at a walk, calmly. Not approaching the bear, nor screaming and running away, both of which could spur a conflict. It's also best not to pressure the bear -- go around if you can, and always keep one eye on them until you're well out of sight. If they start showing signs of stress (shifting, standing up, etc.) it's always the wiser course to simply retreat, but do it calmly. I've had to pass by an adolescent Grizzly at 3 m (it was bear or cliff face, and only backcountry behind me, and twilight falling). The bear stood up to peer at me and sniff. I held still and let him/her look. When s/he dropped back on all fours, turned it's back and resumed feeding I kept walking calmly alway. Had the bear turned sideways to me, moved in an agitated fashion, slapped the ground, or clacked its' teeth I would have backed away, even though it would have meant sleeping in the open that night.

If the bear is in the way but doesn't move aside, then the human has to back off and/or go around. *Far* around.

If the bear approaches then you have to back away slowly, keeping yourself turned towards the bear. If it gets within the radius where you can successfully dose it with bear spray, stand your ground and use it if you have it! (You have to get it in the eyes/mouth, so it has to be close.) If not, you have to manage according to the circumstances. If you can it's best to climb a steep rock face to get away from the bear -- climbing a tree the bear could either come up after you, or could knock the tree down. If you don't have a rock face then a tree is better than nothing, but pick a big tree! Even at this point most charges will be bluffs and the bear will break off and leave once it feels it has enough distance to do so safely.

If the bear attacks your response is dictated by the species. With a Black bear, you fight with everything you have in you. Kick, punch, slam the bear with your pack, stab it with a belt knife if you have it. The reason for this is that Black bear attacks tend to be predatory -- playing dead would just mean that the bear would eat you alive. Multiple people have successfully fought off black bears and lived. With Grizzlies, you curl up in a ball, try to cover the back of your neck, and stay *still*. Grizzly attacks tend to be territorial, and the bear wants you to *go away*. So if you lie still it will often break off the attack and leave you alone. Then you have to lie still until the bear leaves. If the bear starts eating you, of course you have no other recourse other than to fight.

Then there are the special circumstances: if you see bear cubs stay away from them! Look for the mother, and make certain you don't get between her and them. Black bears tend to be more sanguine about human proximity than Grizzlies because the cubs will tree in cases of danger, but it's always best not to precipitate anything. It's always best to just back away and leave quickly (but not running) if you see cubs. Yes, they're incredibly cute. Not cute enough to be worth my life, though. That said, in places where bears are habituated, as long as you keep well away from mama and cubs you can usually watch them and pass by in perfect safety. Just don't give mama reason to worry, and be particularly proactive with Grizzlies, since the sow tends to be much more aggressive in defence.

If you find a bear kill/random carcass: leave quickly. Don't stop to poke about and examine the kill unless you have another person standing guard with a loaded rifle. Just *leave*, and do it fast. If you're hunting and a bear approaches, either back off and let it have the kill, or if you don't have time make damn certain you have your back to something solid and another shot in your rifle, because that's all you're going to get. Usually black bears won't fight a hunter for a kill, but Grizzlies sometimes will. This is why I won't hunt in the high country, and won't hunt species that you can only hunt in Grizzly country, but sometimes the bears show up where you're really not expecting them to. A hunter was killed not 20 km south of here three years ago by a young Grizzly sow who wanted his deer. For the record, that's "outside" the official Grizzly range. The bear hadn't read the rules.

For all my litany sounds scary, keep in mind that I've probably had upwards of 700 bear encounters that I'm aware of (triple it, realistically, for bears that heard or saw me and cleared out without my ever knowing they were there). This doesn't count removal work of course. I've never been bluff charged, not even once. I've only had to back off/go around a few times. Mostly the bears just want to be left alone, and treated with respect, and if you do that they also leave you alone. The biggest risk is accidental encounters for both species. It's possible to practically step on a sleeping bear in the bush. Sometimes the bear will blunder into the humans not realizing they're there until it's too late. Common sense and a cool head are always the first, best defence.

You have a good eye for animal body language, so you could likely pick up very quickly if the animal was uneasy or calm. That's the biggest thing that dictates your response.

[moonvoice]

This is like... the most awesome post on the subject I've ever met (though, to be fair, my previous comprehensive guide was Bill Bryson's catastrophisation in A Walk in the Woods, heh.) Really interesting about the different species, as well. It makes sense that you'd stay away from their kill and cubs. And, as with snakes, usually the most unpredictable encounters happens when one species blunders upon another (i.e. if someone steps on a sleeping snake camouflaged in the brush / if a snake wants to sunbake on a rock a person is sunbaking on). Obviously snakes are quite different, but some of the advice is similar - going around, backing away slowly, and so on.

I had no idea that you'd had so many bear encounters! That's amazing. And it would have to be tripled, because it makes sense that the majority of one's encounters with wild animals are usually ones the person has very little idea about because the animals have already responded.

[silverjackal]

I had no idea that you'd had so many bear encounters!

I live in bear country. Lower down, now, and more urban, so I don't have to check my yard before I leave my front door, but in the last house I had to, particularly in fall when ripening berries and fruit trees drew bears into town. I also used to work in a Federal park that has a healthy population of both Black and Grizzly bears. "Bear encounter" makes it sound exotic, as opposed to walking between my quarters and the office or the warehouse in the morning. :D

Something people who don't live with them often don't know is that Black bears aren't always black. They come in a range of colours, and the colour morphs aren't evenly distributed. In some places almost all of the Black bears really are black. In others you get smatterings of "cinnamon" (red) and "blond" (yellow) bears, in addition to the famous white "Spirit"/Kermode bears of the north/central coast of British Columbia. The park I worked in had a fairly high percentage of cinnamon bears, and they're very attractive. A young warden was working there part time, on loan from another park. One day on a patrol with us he was excitedly telling us about the cinnamon sow black bear he'd seen on a slope near the town. "Which cinnamon sow?" I asked. He was puzzled. "The one with two black cubs, the one with a black cub and a cinnamon cub, or the one with the single black cub?". It was the one with a single black cub, and there were three cinnamon females who remained in close proximity to the town that summer. In the park where he normally worked (only about 700 km away) cinnamon bears were so rare as to be highly unusual. One of the most attractive Black bears I've ever seen was also in that park -- a huge boar that was a rich chocolate brown. He wasn't a Grizzly, just a big Black, and very eye catching due to his unique colour. It was obviously a "dash" off the normal cinnamon red, because he positively glowed in sunlight.

By pure coincidence they had an article on bears in BoingBoing. I laughed when I saw it because it never occurred to me to repeat that old canard. Menstruating women are in no more danger in bear country than anyone else, though of course used menstrual products (like used diapers) have to be treated like "food" (i.e. bear attractant) and disposed of appropriately. Bears will go after the oddest things (to our minds) -- if you're ever camping in bear country do *not* leave lotion, lip balm, or toothpaste in your tent for example -- but they're really not interested in menstrual debris. It *will* attract skunks though. ;D

Edited to add: sunscreen! That's one I sometimes forget in my pack myself, and I always kick myself. Nothing has ever happened because of it, but that's another "not edible by our standards, but tasty by theirs" product which has to be cached properly outside your tent in bear country if you want to come back to your tent intact, standing, and unoccupied by a bear.

Edited again, and please excuse me, but now I want to gnash my teeth in frustration. Wikipedia and a couple of other sources online list cinnamon bears as a distinct subspecies of American Black Bear. That's not accurate at all -- they're just colour morphs, freely intermingled with "regular" black coloured bears.

[goddess_incarnate]

Wow! You're SO knowledgeable!!

What is it that you do, exactly, that privies you to so much info about animals? Or is it just a interest of yours? Now I definitely know what to do during a bear attack (though I've never seen a bear before!).

[silverjackal]

Unfortunately I can't say directly what my job is -- because of my terms of employment, not because it's anything Super!Secret or important. My knowledge base isn't anything special though for anyone who works with natural resources or in the biological sciences (zoology, ecology, fisheries and wildlife management, etc.), or even anyone who is an amateur naturalist and outdoorsy sort in this part of the world. We're fortunate enough to live surrounded by wildlife, so most people at least know the basics.

[shistavanenjedi]

When I was at uni, I did an assignment on the Ethiopian Wolf. I think one of the reasons a lot of people haven't heard of them is because we have none in captivity. The Canid Specialist group of the IUCN wanted to have a captive breeding programme for them, but the Ethiopian Government didn't want them to leave the country. It's really sad because they are almost wiped out in the wild, but as long as they are able to survive there is it probably the best place for them.

The Born Free Foundation do a lot of work with them http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/wolves/ and Claudio Silero-Zubriri (he's an Oxford University researcher whose specialism are Ethiopian Wolves) has started doing trips out there so people can see them in the wild, but it's on the expensive side. If you join the mailing list of the Canid Specialist Groups website, they sometimes have information about it. You can also download a lot of their publications for free as well if you want to know more about the work, but it is heavy reading. http://www.canids.org/

[smw]

African painted dogs are my favorite canid, and seeing this large of a group – and all those pups! – is lovely. Great photos, too, despite the bars.

[moonvoice]

Oh that's so cool that they're your favourite! I wish I could magically teleport you here to see them all!

[kehleyr]

OMG ADORABLE!!!

[moonvoice]

They really are the adorable-est.

[shistavanenjedi]

They look like they are having fun! And the dogs curled up to sleep together remind me of my dog Jaffa. There are some at a zoo close to us which I visited a few years back, but the pack was no where near as big as that one, and they were spending a lot of their time sleeping (at least when I was there). If it wasn't for the fences in some of the pictures, you would have thought that they were wild.

[moonvoice]

I love the big puppy pile, it reminded me so much of domestic puppies (which makes sense!) It's awesome that you have some at a zoo relatively close to you as well. :)

[faolchu_rua]

Ooh, I'd been so excited for these!

Puppy piles have knocked me over due to sheer force of cute. I love the one with the little wrinkle-muzzled pup in the foreground. Also the multiple shots of adults play wrestling on their hind legs. I've never seen the Pittsburgh African Painted Dogs quite so active!

Also the shots depicting the mock hunt are absolutely wonderful! I'm glad they have such a (presumably) sizable enclosure to be able to enact such important lessons for the pups.

[moonvoice]

Yay! The puppy piles were amazing. I had so much fun with those. Really, I could have populated a single post with about 30 different puppy pile photos, they were just *adorable.* There was one point, where there was a puppy on the bottom, and three on top of it, and then finally this fifth puppy came along and literally grabbed the tail of the one on the bottom in its mouth and tugged! And that puppy got up, all indignant, and all the other puppies fell off.

:D

[moonvoice]

I love their ears. And their legs are amazing. The puppy paws are large, but the adult legs are just so graceful and elongated and gorgeous. It's awesome.

[lichen]

great photos! African painted dogs always make me smile. their coats are fantastic!

[paleo]

Maternal...instincts...activated. I hope I can see painteds in person one day. Lovely pics!