Man and Dog

Pink Floyd sang of 'The Dogs of War'; this hasn't been a war to see these dogs, but it has been something of a campaign! Three trips, three countries, one continent, but I'm back in Africa, sun and sweat in my eyes, a bit bruised and battered from the ruts, potholes and the consequent air time when I've been apart from my seat. But, I'm happy, I'm ecstatic. Five years ago I spent a morning following a small group of African Wild Dogs through the bush of South Africa, it was magical to watch the social structure, the interactions, the comradery of these animals. But, behind the playful facade these are apex predators, and that, along with the enormous ranges they cover, has been their downfall. Man has slaughtered them, simply because we didn't like the mode of their hunting, we have blocked their territories with roads and fences, our domestic dogs have given them rabies and now they are critically endangered.

The pack has over a dozen puppies, of various ages, some twist and turn, chasing each other through the branches of a fallen tree. Others are learning to hunt, ganging up on each other, ears in mouths, yelping until an adult gets bored with having his sleep disturbed. In moments the puppies are under control sitting to attention. We watch and wait, the sun settles and the adults wake, stretch, socialise and head off. We set off in pursuit and the hunt begins.

There is this parallel, dogs with intent, me with lens, both hunting, them for food, for survival, me just for images. But I want these images to be important, I want to do what I can to help them. I know it won't really change anything, but I feel this need to try and undo a tiny part of the hurt that we as humans have done to them. So I will do the best I can, take photographs, upload to my website, write blogs, tweet thoughts. And encourage you to come see them in the wild, because once they are gone, they are really gone. It is our money, pounds, dollars, euros, yen, whatever that puts money into the local economy. It is our money that give these threatened animals a value, without a value they have no future. Sad but inherently true, as human populations grow we squeeze the other species out, some migrate away, most just die out. So, if my words have a purpose then it is to encourage you to travel, but maybe at the end of the day I can persuade you of this: It is one thing to travel, but better to travel with a purpose.