Portrait of a Hunter
Seeing an African wild dog, just like seeing a gorilla, had been atop my bucket list since my first safari as a photographer in 2012. Thanks to the Fitzjohn family this wish became a reality in April 2019.
First light is, undoubtedly, the most exciting time as a photographer in Africa. The behaviour of the animals is more alert, perhaps preparing for or even finishing a successful hunt, and the softness of the light itself provides an unrivalled atmosphere within an image. Shadows accentuate natural contours on a subjects face while the landscape is bathed in crisp, golden sunlight.
It was for this reason, in pursuit of the perfect conditions, that I found myself face to face with a wild dog in Mkomazi National Park, Tanzania, before I’d had my first coffee of the day.
The dog on its first approach, I was after a wider angled shot from a closer image than this though
Mkomazi has a fascinating recent history, documented in the book ‘Born Wild’ by Tony ‘Fitz’ Fitzjohn. It was the invitation of his son and one of my closest friends, Mukka, that had landed me just a few feet from a wild dog.
Fitz lived, worked and breathed Mkomazi for 30 years, from 1989-2019. Upon his arrival that area was over run with cattle and devoid of wildlife. To fully understand the remarkable achievement he and his relatively tiny but wonderfully dedicated team achieved, I would suggest his book over anything I can write about it. Needless to say that without his hard work and Mukka’s patience this image would never have been possible.
One of the many fascinating success stories from Mkomazi was of their wild dog (or painted wolf) breeding program. Having started with just a handful of dogs they have, over the years, successfully released 250 dogs in to the Mkomazi/ Chyulu eco-system. This is a staggering contribution given the global population currently lies at approximately 5,000.
Upon my arrival, after an 8 hour drive from Nairobi, across the Kenya/ Tanzania border, I glimpsed my first ever wild dog sheltering under an acacia tree below the Fitzjohn’s house. I smiled, not just because of the sighting, but because having spent eight years hoping for a moment like this, I first encountered a wild dog from the Fitzjohn’s bathroom window! Talk about living with wildlife.
The following morning Mukka had kindly obliged to accompany me on a photography mission to see how close I would be allowed to approach these beautiful dogs. They are, by nature, very curious but ultimately wary of human presence. Muk was fairly sure it was unlikely I would get as close as I hoped but I was not deterred.
The moment I had been waiting for (photo by Mukka Fitzjohn)
Lying on my stomach, in vibrantly orange dust, I had Mukka crouching behind me to let me know where each individual was so that I could focus all my attention on my camera. Looking through a view finder, while surrounded by these animals, meant I was only ever aware where one or two were at a time. It became immediately obvious that almost every animal was startled by our presence and unwilling to come anywhere near us. The first pangs of panic shot through me.
Thankfully though, one males curiosity seemed to outweigh his initial fear and he began to move in a circle around what must have looked a bizarre duo to him. One lying on the ground looking at a camera, and another crouching behind spinning in circles to follow the path he was taking.
I knew this male would be the only possible photography subject, the rest were obviously too anxious to approach, and so I began trying to shift round in to a position to follow his progress. To get ‘the’ shot I knew I would have to wait until he was almost within arms reach, therefore to move in to position too early and spook him would be detrimental. Light was starting to become an issue though. If it took much longer for him to approach the sun would be too high and the impact of golden hour diminished.
As if he had read my mind his circling stopped and he took a direct line towards me, fascinated apparently by my legs. Were they food perhaps? Mukka warned me to move them slowly up and down, leaving them stationary may give the impression of food, but not to move them so fast that they would scare him off.
So, moving my legs at the pace of someone trying to swim front-crawl through custard, I watched, through my camera view finder, the dog move gradually closer until he filled the entire frame and was an arms reach from my lens. Scratching him behind the ears was, of course, out of the equation.
Exhilarated I fired off a round of images, ensuring that I would have caught his stare perfectly, before he confirmed I was not in fact food and backed away.
A quick glance at the back of my camera showed the shot I was after was there, but as if he’s decided he was now a cat (dog) walk model and made the approach towards me twice more, giving me the chance to try a variety of images.
An eternal thank you to Mukka, Fitz and the dog, without the 3 of them it would never have come off!
