Desperate times call for desperate measures, and being cornered by a pack of hungry wild dogs makes for some very desperate times. This nyala was at risk of a rapid and painful death.
Matt Hyward, a 51-year-old Professor of Conservation Science made this sighting on his iphone at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, capturing the tense moment this nyala mounted one last desperate defense against its attackers.
Following The Trail
Matt was staying in the Green House at the Hluhluwe Hilltop Staff Camp Research Station where he met the team studying wild dogs. It wasn’t long before Matt and the wild dog team met again one morning as the dogs were dramatically closing down a hunt.
While the people were on the trail of the wild dogs, the dogs themselves had followed the trail of a nyala ram that looked tasty enough for them to put in some effort bringing down. They’d clearly been chasing and harassing their prey before Matt began filming.
The nyala, trying to find any kind of favorable situation for keeping itself safe, had planted itself squarely in the middle of a watering hole, where the dogs were having a little bit of trouble getting to it.
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The Importance Of Height
This watering hole was deep enough to reach past the nyala’s knees and almost reach its stomach, which meant it was considerably deeper for the smaller dogs that were trying to attack.
Out in the middle of the water where the nyala was trying to defend itself was difficult for the dogs to get to, and it wasn’t actually clear if they could touch the bottom. If they could they were definitely struggling to get enough purchase there to hunt effectively.
They had to bound through the deep water which slowed them down considerably. This also meant that the nyala had plenty of warning of their approach, and could turn to face them with its large horns.
Limited Weaponry
The nyala had only these horns with which to defend itself, and on land they would have been wholly insufficient. Although they would be more than capable of doing damage to the wild dogs if they’d landed a hit, they could not be everywhere at once.
On land some dogs would have attacked from the front to keep the nyala distracted while others approached from behind and attacked the vulnerable skin around the nyala’s haunches and back legs, weakening it until they could kill it.
They were trying to use the same tactics here, but the nyala could hear them coming and turn to face them before they could reach it, negating this kind of hunting style.
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Panicked To Death
The nyala was in a good position, but the dogs were still closing in and it had to leave the water sooner or later. After one particularly large charge to force the dogs back and clear the way, the nyala went for it.
Matt told Latest Sightings that the dogs “made light work of him on dry land”, where their hunting tactics returned to their gruesome efficiency. The nyala had fatally left the water only to fall quickly.
This sighting was rare, with Matt saying he’s “studied predators in Africa for 20 years” and that this was only the fourth time he’d “seen a kill being made in daylight”. He advises safari goers that the “more time you spend in the bush, the better your chances are” of seeing something amazing.
