Tumbeta Africa Supports Waterberg Wild Dog Conservation Project
Tumbeta Private Game Reserve, together with Bushlore Africa, provided a game viewer for three months to support the Waterberg Wild Dog Initiative’s (WWDI) eco-tourism project during this year’s denning season. The project is funded by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), which supports conservation efforts protecting the Waterberg’s wild dogs, among the last free-roaming packs left in South Africa. These wild dogs occur in the Waterberg, not far from Tumbeta Private Game Reserve.
Image Credits: By Toyota South Africa Motors as seen on IOL Article
Denning Season
Why It Matters
Each year, when wild dog pups are born, the pack becomes far less mobile. Rather than ranging widely, the dogs stay close to the den site to protect and raise the pups, which means they hunt within a much smaller area. As a result, farmers and landowners near the den site come under significantly more pressure, since the pack ends up predating more heavily on game animals in that limited space.
To help offset this impact, the WWDI uses eco-tourism during denning season, bringing guests in to view the pack while funds raised go directly toward supporting the farmers most affected. Running this kind of eco-tourism experience requires a reliable game viewer, which is where Tumbeta and Bushlore came in, providing the vehicle needed to make the project possible.
Once the pups are old enough, the pack becomes highly mobile again, ranging across a much larger area. This spreads their impact more evenly across the region, easing the pressure on any single farm.
22 July 2026
Collaring Operation
As part of this broader effort, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) and the WWDI led a conservation operation on Tuesday, 22 July 2026, aiming to collar one of the alpha members of the Mokolo Area Pack. Guests were invited along to witness the process using the Tumbeta-Bushlore game viewer. The field team used a baiting method to draw the pack in, and within 30 minutes, members of the pack emerged to feed. However, the targeted dog remained surrounded by the rest of the pack throughout, making it too risky to proceed with the collaring. While the collar wasn’t fitted on the day, the team still gathered valuable insight into the pack’s behaviour.
Image Credits: By Toyota South Africa Motors as seen on IOL Article
The Waterberg Wild Dogs
Why They Are So Hard To Find
African wild dogs have earned the nickname “ghost dogs” because they’re rarely seen, even though they cover enormous territories. They’re among Africa’s most endangered predators, with fewer than 5,500 remaining across the continent and only a small fraction belonging to established breeding pairs.
The Waterberg is home to one of South Africa’s last free-ranging wild dog populations, with packs moving across farms, private reserves and tourism properties rather than staying within fenced boundaries.
Why Conservation Matters
To Tumbeta Private Game Reserve
As a malaria-free Big 5 reserve in the Waterberg, Tumbeta sits right in the heart of the landscape these wild dogs call home. Conservation isn’t separate from what we do, it’s part of why the reserve exists in the first place. Supporting projects like the WWDI’s eco-tourism initiative reflects the same values that guide how we manage our own land: protecting biodiversity, respecting the natural movement of wildlife, and working alongside the wider Waterberg community and farmers to make coexistence between people and predators possible.
Opportunities like this remind us that conservation is a shared effort. It takes reserves, landowners, funders like EWT, and organisations like WWDI and TSAM all playing their part, and Tumbeta, alongside Bushlore, was proud to help make this season’s project possible.
Read The Full Story
For more detail on the July 22 operation, the field team’s experience, and what makes African wild dogs so unique.