The African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) wake up and gather for their evening hunt in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. A one year old female, named “Ghost” due to her unusually white pattern, looks back at me. Mana Pools is known for its magical backlight caused by dust and distant smoke, however this light can be elusive. Finding a spot of this light and something interesting inside it can be quite a challenge. The wild dogs travel the range of their territory and on the last night that they were in the area of the park accessible by road we managed to capture this special light with the pack.
African wild dogs are a red list endangered species. As of May 2020 it was estimated that only 1409 mature individuals remained. (IUCN Red List). They have a wide range and their biggest threat is habitat fragmentation. African wild dogs are also known as Painted Dogs or Painted Wolves.