Sadly, these puppies were all killed by hyenas when released into the reserve. The puppies in the top photo are about two months old and I love it because it captures their sweet innocence as well as their rough and tumble playfulness in a classic puppy pile-up. I took so many cute pictures of them that it was a serious challenge for me to pick just one for this post.

We came back nearly every day to watch them grow and play and nurse and feed. Nursing her puppies outside the den when they were only 24 days old. They were only three weeks old and we were the first to see them. They lived in a large enclosure out in the bush and the plan was to release them all into the reserve once the female had given birth and safely raised the pups.ДЇinally the day came when eight tiny puppies crawled out of the underground burrow one by one. For three months we tracked cheetahs and leopards while waiting for a pair of captive Wild Dogs to give birth. We were volunteering as wildlife monitors at a private reserve in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. These highly endangered carnivores (also known as African Painted Dogs) are almost extinct in South Africa, but Cristina and I had the great honor of watching this family of wild dog puppies emerge from their den for the first time. ThereвЂ™s hardly anything in the world cuter than a puppy. If you enjoy our content and want to support Travel For Wildlife, please visit our shop Truly Wild.

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Pics of wild dogs