Kruger National Park
Limpopo · Best Apr to Sep
41 places
Wildlife
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictusEndangered
The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as cape hunting dog, African hunting dog, African painted dog, painted hunting dog or painted wolf, is a canid native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Species insights
When to visit
Recorded year-round
Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.
Best monthsAny month
Records1,415 records
Curve from 1,415 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.
Where you'll find it
Mpumalanga and beyond
Provinces where African Wild Dog is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.
1,415 records, iNaturalist
Parks where hosts record the African Wild Dog
Stays that give back
Across South Africa
Baobab Hill House by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 17,120a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Rhino Sands Safari Camp
Hazyview
From R 22,680a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Pafuri Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Nkula Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 8,380a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Tanda Tula Safari Camp
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Mdluli Safari Lodge
Kruger National Park
From R 10,670a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
The Orpen Kruger
Kruger National Park
From R 9,024a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge
Kruger National Park
From R 17,400a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Dulini Moya
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
From R 28,990a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Ubuntu Lodge at Elephant Point
Kruger National Park
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Kruger Untamed - Satara Plains Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 11,980a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Kruger Untamed - Tshokwane River Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 17,500a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Marataba Mountain Lodge
Marakele National Park
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Twee Rivieren Rest Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 450a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Orpen Rest Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 1,815a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Lion Sands Ivory Lodge
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Mata-Mata Rest Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 450a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Grootkolk Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Lion Sands Tinga Lodge
Kruger National Park
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 390a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Bitterpan Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
African Wild Dog recorded here
Marataba Safari Lodge
Marakele National Park
Price on request
African Wild Dog recorded here
Kruger Lowveld
Next stop
Bushveld game country and the southern gates of the Kruger
See places that give backPlanning a trip
When and where to find the African Wild Dog
The African wild dog is the rarest large carnivore in the country and, for many guides, the best sighting on offer.
When to go, park by park
Here all yearEasiest viewing
| Park | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kruger | Here | Here | Here | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Here | Here | Here |
| Kgalagadi | Here | Here | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing | Easiest viewing |
Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.
Best hours of the day
- First and last hours of daylight. The African Wild Dog moves and hunts in the cool.
- Midday, resting. Usually lying up in shade and hard to spot.
- After dark, on a night drive. Where the reserve or park offers one.
Where to base yourself
Limpopo
Kruger · Marakele · Mapungubwe
LimpopoBig FiveSelf-driveGuided drivesStays in Limpopo
Northern Cape
Kgalagadi
Northern CapeSelf-driveMalaria-freeStays in Northern Cape
Mpumalanga
Sabi Sand
MpumalangaBig FiveGuided drivesStays in MpumalangaKwaZulu-Natal
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi · Ithala
KwaZulu-NatalBig FiveStays in KwaZulu-Natal
Ways to look
Drive yourself
Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.
Where hosts record it
Guided drives from a lodge
A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.
Where hosts record it
IUCN Red List
Endangered
Species
Lycaon pictus
Records
1,415
iNaturalist observations
Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.
Questions travellers ask
A record means a host has seen the African Wild Dog on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.
More about the African Wild Dog
The African wild dog is the rarest large carnivore in the country and, for many guides, the best sighting on offer. Packs cover enormous distances, sometimes forty kilometres in a day, so no reserve can promise them. What changes the odds is the denning season. From roughly June to August a pack settles at a den to raise pups, stops moving and becomes findable for weeks at a stretch.
The northern Kruger and the private reserves on its boundary, Madikwe in the North West, and the Zululand reserves including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Phinda are where South Africa holds its packs, and the population is managed as a single metapopulation, with animals moved between fenced reserves to keep it viable. That work is run in large part by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, one of the causes stays on Spekboom support.
Wild dogs hunt in the cool of early morning and late afternoon at a flat run, and a pack on the move is impossible to keep up with. Ask at your lodge which way the pack was last seen heading, because with this species yesterday matters more than any season.
When is the best time to see African wild dogs?
The denning season, roughly June to August, when a pack stays put at a den with pups instead of ranging across the whole reserve. Within the day, early morning and late afternoon, when they hunt. Wild dogs are the least predictable large carnivore in the country and a sighting is never guaranteed.
Where can you see wild dogs in South Africa?
The northern Kruger and the private reserves on its western boundary, Madikwe Game Reserve, and the Zululand reserves including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Phinda. Populations in fenced reserves are managed as one metapopulation, so packs move between them over time.
Why are wild dogs endangered?
They need very large ranges, which puts them in conflict with farming and traffic outside protected areas, and they are vulnerable to diseases carried by domestic dogs. Fewer than a few hundred survive in South Africa. Bookings at stays linked to the Endangered Wildlife Trust help fund the metapopulation programme that keeps the remaining packs viable.
What is the conservation status of the African Wild Dog?
The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
What is the African Wild Dog?
The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as cape hunting dog, African hunting dog, African painted dog, painted hunting dog or painted wolf, is a canid native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
