COALITION MEMBERS

#1 DUSTY

Dusty was bred by Pat Yeo and whelped on 7/9/1997. She was registered under the name Excalibur Skusa, and in her way was one of the most successful dogs to enter the KNP. Able to stop any animal with her growl, she was a most reliable and trusted partner of her manager. This was a tremendous advantage as she was the first Rhodesian Ridgeback to enter service there in recent years. She established herself as a most promising example of the breed and created the opportunity for many more to follow her. She was able to gauge the attitude of all animals approaching with remarkable accuracy, and did not make mistakes. Her manager was Ralf Kalwa.

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#2 ZIMBA

Zimba was one of the larger and heavier types of Rhodesian Ridgebacks. He has made certain capabilities available but did not evidence the sharpness in his skills which is so necessary to give him a reasonable chance to survive successfully in this environment. Almost inevitably he was eventually blinded by Mocambiquan Spitting Cobra and euthanasia was unavoidable. See Gypsey below.

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   #3 GYPSEY

                       

Gypsey was a brother of Zimba and another of the heavy and larger type of Ridgeback. She shared his duller alertness also, and eventually suffered the same fate. We must regretfully acknowledge that in the KNP a dumb dog is a dead dog. In spite of her manager’s best efforts she was struck for the fifth time and lost her sight. In the interim she caused serious consternation by leaping into any available deep water to cool off during the hot weather experienced in the northern half of the KNP. With crocodile to be found wherever there is deep water this was a most serious problem, but her manager managed to keep her from an early demise from that threat while being unable to prevent her succumbing to Cobra. It must be realised that both of these dogs took the preliminary protective steps and remained out of reach of the snake’s fangs. That just was not enough, and they failed to learn from the painful consequences of venom burning off the skin on their eyeballs. See Zimba above.

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#4 JUBA

 

Juba was whelped 11/12/1997 and registered under the name Tambuku Dragonshadow. Bred by Sian Hall in Howick he was one of the early dogs in the KNP, and distinguished himself by striking up a very friendly relationship with Impala, running alongside them while they cavorted around the Park. He was always most respectful to the large predators, and his manager was in a position to boast, should circumstances necessitate it, that he could go anywhere he wanted without his rifle, Juba would not let him walk into danger. His manager was Jaco Badenhorst.

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#5 THABA

 

Thaba’s primary gift was the ability to draw a lion across and in front of his manager. Bred by Dr Steph Potgieter, his registered name is Pronkberg Thaba. His manager is Hendrick Graphorn, who takes him frequently into the bush in the Klasserie area, but this ability to draw a lion across and in front of Hendrick provides his manager with the most stunning view of lion at under 30m that anyone could hope to enjoy. It is one of those unforgettable experiences where the use of the weapon in his hands is not an option the manager is interested in taking up.

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#6 CHIVA

Chiva has attained what is probably the most startling level of performance of all the Kruger dogs by successfully herding elephant. He has competently moved a small herd a significant distance, and that herd included cows with calves.

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#7 OSCAR

 

Oscar was bred by Pat Yeo. Registered under the name Excalibur Muffenza, he was whelped on the eighth of October 1998. He is a very large and powerful dog with a very strong character, and does not hesitate to challenge lion on the other side of the fence when they become too noisy.

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#8 MATJULU

 

 

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#9 JAMBO

 

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#10 NALA

 

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#11 MPHOFU

Mphofu carries the registered name of Shashanga Xivandzi, He was whelped on the 7th December 2000 in the KNP, and is the first of the KNP puppies to be put into service in the Park. He has been very successful but has taken up the disturbing habit of chasing away any hyena he sees whenever he has his girlfriend with him. It is therefore not practical to have the two together.



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COALITION PARTNERS

 

 

#51 MAGGIE

 

 

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#52 MONTY

 

 

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#53 CHANCE