You can hardly call it “news” when everybody knows it is going to happen, but for me it is still a big story and I know many of you feel the same. This morning, Saturday 1st May 2010, at 9.30am, the gate to our central holding facility at the main boma was opened and our pack of wild dogs was free to roam away into the reserve.

The morning started somewhat earlier, with the weather quickly showing signs of co-operation – a misty start was quickly giving way to warm sunshine and a blue sky. Prior to releasing the dogs Jacquie took the opportunity for one last look at them at reasonably close quarters and commented as to the extent Lekona follows Back Hook around – always wants to walk with her, always wants to lie next to her – certainly, the bonding process with these two could not have gone any better. And so the allotted time came upon us. The plan was for Jacquie to drive into the boma, drive around in the manner that has happened so many times before, but this time, the gates would not be closed so when Jacquie drove out, the dogs could simply follow the vehicle straight out.

For the ladies, this worked like a dream – the gates opened, vehicle went in, came out, dogs followed - pausing just momentarily at the point where the gate had sat on the rollers – prior to jumping over some unseen barrier and out. Again the girls paused, albeit very briefly, then set about exploring the new, unusual surroundings.  But what of the males? Well, nothing, no sign. They remained inside, very suspicious of this new opportunity. The females ran around, sniffed, coming and going, very excited, then returned to the males, who remained inside. This was repeated many times over, three, four, times. Back Hook, torn between her sisters and the new man in her life stood at the entrance, not sure which way to go, she would run and join Two Spots & Flash, then be the first to return to the boma, at one point, she even took shade sitting on the road, just five metres into the free world, and was even joined by her sisters, but still the males where not to be moved.

By 10.00am, the sun was high and hot, and our females continued to cajole the males into joining them outside in this brave new world, but no, something was holding them back. After a quick deliberation it was decided to move all the vehicles to the same place, giving the males a view of a clean run, right out of the boma and away. This now changed the landscape, and when our ladies next suggested the boys should join them they headed right up to that same invisible barrier. This they had done once before, but unlike last time, first Mathebole, and finally, Lekona made the jump.

It had taken 52 minutes, but at 10.22 this morning, moving faster than the Limpopo presently flows, a small pack of five wild dogs bolted out and away, in a generally southerly direction, to become the second major species to be released into Limpopo-Lipadi Game and Wilderness Reserve. It was a very proud moment for all the staff involved here at the reserve, but especially so for Norman and Base who so many of us have met whilst visiting the boma and of course Jacquie, who has overseen this project, through thick and thin, and sometimes very trying and difficult circumstances for the past 21 months. We all owe her and her team a huge “Thank You”.

After giving the dogs a half hour head start we headed out, tracking device on, to see how their first steps into their new lives have been shaping up. We followed the rear exit road heading towards Langope, and stopping every 10 or so minutes to check the tracking signal, eventually hit the main road, then headed west. With the signal at it’s strongest we disembarked and walked through the bush, eventually finding the dogs at rest under a large shady tree.  uickly settling into their new life, they gave a low bark on hearing us, which gave away their position, but they quickly moved once we had seen each other – demonstrating to us their natural instincts appear to be in very good condition.

It was 12.07pm, and we had just had our first glimpse of our wild dogs, running wild in our wilderness. Wonderful! For me, it was a privilege to be here and witness it.