When I decided to fly to South Africa and help The Wildlife Act I had no idea what our mission was to be. All we knew was that we would be trying to make a difference with some of South Africa’s most endangered species.
Upon climbing aboard our safari vehicle I was informed that our mission was to track and monitor wild dogs. Of course that sounded great but how about the black rhino, or elephants, or lions? Heck, we have dogs back in the United States. We had no idea what we were in store for.
Every morning we rise at 3:30am and head into the darkness to try to find the dogs before they wake and start to hunt. We track the dogs with a transmission device that is attached to a collar around the dog’s neck. Our particular pack of dogs travel in a group of six and are not always easy to find in the miles of rolling rocky hills.
The first time we saw the dogs the light switch flipped on for me, as well as many in our small group of researchers. The dogs were beautiful. Beautiful, that is, in the sense that they were unlike any dog I had seen before.
They are about the size of a German Shepard and have patchwork colors including black, brown, white. Each dog is distinguishable by its own particular pattern. Their ears are uncharacteristically larger than a typical dogs ears and are round in shape. They remind me much more of a wolf than a dog to be quite honest. Perhaps that is why there is a grass roots movement to change the name of these animals to the African Painted Wolf.
I am going to pause on the subject of the name for a minute. After having worked with these animals for a few weeks now I am beginning to understand their plight.
There are fewer than 4,500 wild dogs left on the face of the planet, yet public’s concern for this seems to be back burner. The locals dislike the dogs because they are predatory animals and they eat the livestock. Often they are hunted and killed to solve the problem.
Is it possible that the plight of the wild dog lies within its name? Is it viewed as just another homeless and hungry dog that is a nuisance? Is it hard to form a groundswell of support for a dog? When we heard that there was talk about trying to change the name to an African Painted Wolf it clicked! Who wouldn’t want to see and/or save an African Painted Wolf? It 
could be just the awareness these animals need to thrust them into the spotlight of endangered species that need to be saved.
I realize that it is just a name, but as an American citizen, I know far too well that everything in society is based on perception. So I pose this question to you? If you knew nothing about this animal, which would you be more inclined to rally for? A wild dog or an African Painted Wolf?
By: Byron Goggin, Photojournalist